


Something Wicked

by Zags96



Category: Amar a Muerte (TV)
Genre: (no dog dies in the making of this fic), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Amar a Muerte: Juliantina, Angst, Blood and Violence, Crossover Characters to appear, F/F, Legacies: Posie, Minor Character Deaths, More focus on plot this time, Multiple Crossovers, The 100: Clexa, Violence toward zombies and people, Wynonna Earp: WayHaught, Zombie Apocalypse, as in not Juliantina, badass dog, but the relationships are very important to the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2020-07-28 05:53:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20059099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zags96/pseuds/Zags96
Summary: [sequel to Something Wild]There's one rule that the group decided to live by when things calmed down after the death of their torturers (Alacran and his men): Don't be a fucking hero. It was pretty simple in their minds. Don't go out of your way to save everyone and put yourself in danger. Everyone agreed it was better to fight as a team than to fight solo. Except, Juliana didn't have a choice. Either lead the hoard to the people she's grown to love or lead them away and hope she can make her way back. What she finds while she's on her own changes everything she knows about the outbreak, brings a family back together, and can potentially end the undead nightmare they've all been suffering through.***Or, the sequel no one asked for but you're getting anyway because I love it.(Note: this fic does involve several ships from other fandoms. However, they are not the focus of the fic and you do not need knowledge of the show or background to read this series.)





	1. Prologue

**Intro: October 15, 2026, 9:45 AM **

Listen, I’m not usually one to go against my own rules in this shitastic apocalyptic world we’ve ended up in. Normally, I stick to my rules and the rules of the group like Rotter goo in hair—that shit never comes out. I may bend some rules, maybe find loopholes when I need to, but I’ve never blatantly broken a rule. Let alone a rule as big as this: _don’t be a fucking hero_.

There’s really no way around that rule, no loopholes to be found, no good reason to break it. Valentina had tried to be a hero for her family, and we all know how that ended (as a refresher, they all ended up as Rotters). Only two things will come of trying to be a hero in this world either the people you’re trying to protect will die or you will. That’s it. The likelihood of anyone surviving a boneheaded act of stupidity (note, I’m not saying bravery) is slim.

So, I really have no fucking clue why I did it. I’ve done my heroics. I’ve saved enough lives, right? Valentina, Penelope, Josie, Waverly, Nicole, Lexa, and Clarke all escaped that run down, poorly guarded, and easily burned to the ground compound that Alacran and his men used. I did that. With the help of Marvel, of course. But I did my heroics. I already put my life on the line. And that time, I came crawling back to Val half-dead.

Not my best moment but hey, at least I came back, right?

This time, I’m not so sure I’ll be that lucky…

Scanning my surroundings, I am beyond fucked. The fact that I’m on higher ground means nothing to undead down below. Nope. That means absolutely nothing because this old fire tower could collapse at any second. No one is coming to my rescues. No one knows where I am. I’m alone in the middle of the forest without ammo or my machete.

Maybe you’re asking how I got myself in this situation. And that’s fair. I mean, last thing you heard we were a badass gang of queer women slicing our way through post-apocalyptic hell. Blood covered and battle worn women looking for solace.

If it hasn’t been apparent yet, we didn’t find solace. Instead, we found new types of undead the further we traveled from the compound. Bloated and water soaked undead—Dredgers—are near any source of water. Charred fire-breathing undead—Pyros—that burned down one of our safe houses. And, my least favorite of all, Ghosts. No, I don’t mean the one’s that haunt houses and pop out yelling “Boo!” I mean the one’s that are so silent, that they give no warning. The one’s that have no precursors or signs that they’re near. They’re just there one minute and gone the next. Ghosts. They’re killable, though. And you can see them once they’re there. It’s just a matter of actually seeing them before they kill you.

Oh, right, how I got myself into this situation. Well, you know those rules that shouldn’t be broken that I mentioned earlier?

The first rule not to be broken is _don’t be a fucking hero_.

The second rule not to be broken is _stay vigilant_.

Pretty self-explanatory.

But I broke them both.

Which is how I ended up here in the middle of Seven Lake Forest at the top of a fire lookout tower, not a soul in sight. Just me and my closest undead friends who want to eat me. Sounds like a party, right?

I’ve been gone three days. I don’t know where the rest of my group is or what happened to them. I can only hope that my stupidity and blind “heroics” saved their lives. Staring down at the snarling and screeching undead wondering how I’m going to make it out of here alive. I whisper to myself, “Val’s gonna kill me if they don’t first.”


	2. Part I: Chapter One

** **

**October 11, 2026, 5:46PM**

“I don’t see the point in this,” Penelope muttered as we all walked through the neighborhood. Penelope and I were sent on scouting duty, but we both knew there would be nothing around. It had been days without a Rotter or any other undead coming out way. We were staked out on a mountain in an abandoned fort. The station was surrounded by tall chain linked fences. While that won’t hold a Goliaths back, or keep Pyros from setting the building on fire, or even thugs with SUVs, it keeps us safe from Rotter. After all, Rotters are the most common.

“Me neither, it’s not like there are flesh eating monsters stalking around trying to kill us,” I retorted.

“We haven’t encountered one in days, Juliana. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. So, again, what’s the point?” Penelope argued back as we circled around the building outside the fence. I couldn’t answer that for her. The only reason I was actually scouting around the building was because I needed a break.

There are eight of us trapped in a tiny two room fort. Nicole and Waverly are like horny teenagers. Clarke and Lexa bicker endlessly about plans and supplies and who knows what else. Penelope and Josie are still not together but being anywhere near the two of them feels like I’m drowning in a lake of sexual tension. It was just too much for me. Too much noise. Too much interaction. After so much time spent alone, I grew used to the silence. Even with Val it was never as chaotic. I needed a break, so I jumped on this chance to scout the perimeter.

“The point is to make sure our friends don’t die in the middle of the night because we think everything is all hunky-fucking-dory.”

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine,” Penelope rolled her eyes. I stopped her near the entrance to the fence.

“Look, if you want to go inside and hang out with your _friend_ Josie, go for it. I’m going to take another lap.” I didn’t wait for a response, I left her there by the fence as I walked further into the forest. I was hopeful Penelope would have gone inside, left me alone. Apparently, I didn’t make that clear enough because I heard feet following after me. “Pen, seriously, did you not get the hint?”

“Other women hitting on you, love?” Valentina chuckled as she gets closer.

“Can you blame them?” I smirked. “Better watch out, Vale, you’ve got some competition.”

“I’ll just feed them to the undead,” she shrugged, “problem solved.” I shook my head laughing and leaned in to kiss her.

“Why are you out here?” I asked finally as we continued to check the surroundings. She walked beside me, her katana’s strapped to her back. “I thought you taking a nap.”

“I was, but then Pen came back without you. I didn’t like the idea of you out here alone.”

“You know,” I said as I weaved around a few trees before peering over at her, “I did survive out here on my own before I found you.”

“Correction, I found you, Peaches.”

“You know what I mean, I can hold my own, Valentina.” She stepped in front of me stopping me from advancing along the perimeter. Slowly, she began to back me up against a tree behind me.

“Maybe,” she started, “I just wanted a minute alone with you. Maybe I got tired of sharing you with six other women.” My back hit the rough bark, a gasp slipped out from between my lips.

“Val.” Her name came out in a soft puff of air. Her blue eyes locked onto mine; I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t break the gaze, not that I wanted to. I didn’t want anything to break this moment, to take it away from me.

“Valentina!” Lexa’s voice yelled from the fort. “Get back in here! Your dog won’t stop whining!”

“You can get laid when your girlfriend isn’t supposed to be guarding us from uncertain _death_!” Penelope yelled.

“And that’s a mood killer,” Val said resting her forehead against mine. “Marvel calls.”

“Go, I’ll be in soon,” I smiled and kissed her quickly before watching her retreat back to the fort. I was really hopeful I would be back inside soon. Sure, I could have easily just followed Valentina inside. Pen and I already did a lap around the building, but something inside me was saying to keep looking around. And, in part, I was glad I did.

Behind the fort, a little ways into the woods, was another lake—which isn’t surprising considering we were in Seven Lakes Forest. The surprising thing was that the lake was surrounded by the biggest hoard of undead that I have ever seen. Undead fucks that I have never come across before. I stopped in my tracks and tried my best to remain unseen and unheard. This wasn’t good. Nope. Not fucking good at all. How did we not see this before?

Fuck.

We should have expanded our perimeter. Should have looked further than right outside our fences. But how were we supposed to know? If there was nothing close by, why would be move? If it was safe, why shouldn’t we stay?

Again. _Fuck_.

Slowly, I started to back up to get away from the hoard. I needed to tell the others so we could get the hell out of this back woods, horror story setting, forest fortress. Even if I couldn’t get back to the others, maybe I could get far enough away to send them a message over the walkie-talkie without making too much noise. But, alas, I fucked up. I stepped on a fucking twig. A _twig_ blew my cover.

The background noise of the hoard comes to a halt. And then it was chaos.

I ran in the opposite direction of the others as I pulled the walkie from my belt.

“Val, Clarke, Lexa, anyone!” I yelled into the walkie talkie. “You need to get out of there. Now!”

“Juls,” Lexa’s voice came in over the receiver. “What do you mean, what’s happening?” I pressed down on the button just as a cacophony of screeches, growls, and—I shit you not—a roar. “What the _fuck_ was that?”

“Oh, those were my friends! Say hi undead shit heads!” I said holding the button down. The hoard lets out another round of noise as my feet carried me further and further from the others. Leaves and branches crunched loudly with each step I took. “Aren’t they so nice?”

“Where are you, we’ll come—” Lexa started to say. I could hear the hoard thundering toward me. I wasn’t so sure I could outlast them.

“No, no, absolutely not. As far as these geniuses know, it’s just me. You need to get the others out of there now.”

“Juliana, we’re not going to leave you behind.” Lexa was adamant, her brain was trying to come up with any solution that wouldn’t leave me stranded or dead.

“Yes, you are! I’m leading them west away from the fort. Get the others in the truck, take them further north, or east. I don’t care. Just get as far away from this forest as possible,” I demanded. “Lexa, you have to do this. There is no point in more than one of us dying.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t be a fucking hero, Juliana. Goddamn it, you don’t need to—”

“It’s too late. Keep them safe.” My arms pumped by my side as I pushed myself faster and faster. I didn’t have time to think about the fact that I only had a gun with nine bullets, my trusty machete, and a granola bar. My backpack was back with the others. Along with my sanity and any hope for survival.

“Juls—need—we can come find you—” Static ripped through the walkie and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the signal was too far away.

“Tell Val I’m sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Chapter One Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186757188333/something-wicked-by-zags96-part-i-chapter)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	3. Part I: Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a relatively short chapter, but I needed to cut it off where I did. 
> 
> For reasons. 
> 
> Also, sorry in advance.

**October 12, 2026, 2:22AM**

Like I said earlier, I’m not usually one to go against my own rules or my groups rules. In the apocalypse, there’s plenty of room to say, “Fuck off, I do what I want.” But it gets to the point where you’re putting yourself and those you care about at risk each time. And after the Alacran thing…I didn’t want to do that again. Didn’t want to suffer through the pain of wondering if Val was okay. Didn’t want to put Val through the pain of wondering where I was.

All of that went out the window when I saw the hoard. There was no way in hell I was going to let those fuckers be led back to my group. I wasn’t going to bring them certain death. Not a chance.

Instead, I basically cemented my own death. Not many people would make it out alive when surrounded by this big of a hoard. The fire tower sways beneath my feet as the hoard ram into it again and again. I’m hoping that it will remain stable. Hopeful that despite the sheer number of them out there that they won’t be able to break it down. Fire towers have to be able to withstand a lot of natural disasters, right?

I don’t know. I’m not an expert on fire towers or forests or natural disasters—aside from my own life that is.

Peering out of the crust covered window I can see that the hoard is still alive and well. They’re calmer. More subdued. But still chomping at the bit to get to me. Maybe they’re similar to infants, you know? There’s a large potential that they lack the object permanence that I have. If they can’t see me, I’m not here.  
There’s no use in going out there to fight them. I mean, other than the obvious reason, which is to go out swinging than cowering in the corner of the room. But I’m banking on them going away. How long can a hoard really wait out their prey without getting bored?

**

Hours. The answer is several long, excruciating, goddamn hours.

Lucky for me the fire tower is well equipped. There’s a bed, a place to store food, a radio of some kind, and plenty of windows to keep an eye on my rotting friends below. Whoever was in here last left all their stuff behind. I don’t stop to wonder why that is, though my brain tries to come up with ideas. Either way, if they’re dead they’re not coming back and if they’re alive they’re not making it through the hoard.

So, their supplies are now mine.

Thanks whoever you are.

My adrenaline is still pumping. I can hear them chattering below. Occasionally, Goliaths bumble into the structure of the tower. The boards shake. The windows creak. But I remain a couple stories higher than them. For now. With each sound. With each bump and creak and click. My adrenaline spikes again and again. They may not remember me being up here, but I fucking remember them being down there. It’s hard to forget about the undead decomposing bodies down there trying to _eat me_.

The sun had set a while ago right when I reached the tower in the first place. It’s been hours since then. Hours in the dark. Hours wondering where my group was, where Val was. Hours hoping that the hoard would just dissipate and let me live to see my girlfriend one more fucking time. That’s apparently too much to ask. The world was cruel before the apocalypse, but it’s gotten a bit worse since then.

I can’t tell for sure how long I ran through the woods before coming upon the tower. I don’t know how far east I went. If I even went east at all. Oh, fuck, what if I didn’t go east at all? What if I brought the hoard closer to them rather than further away? I would have noticed that…right?

“Fuck,” I whisper banging my head against the wall of the tower.

The lull in the chatter rises quickly. Their noise filling the forest once again and I’m left with the fear that I will not make it out alive. There isn’t a single part of this situation that leaves me with an inkling of hope. I curl up on the mattress on the floor and accept my fate.

I’m going to die out here.

I’m going to die alone without the one person I love knowing where I am or where to find me.

There haven’t been many times that I let myself cry during all of this. From the moment my mom left to now, I can count each time on one hand. But I let myself do it this time. It comes out in rivers, silently wracking my body. As I shake, I reach to tug my legs closer, to curl myself into ball so tight that maybe I’ll just disappear.

Except it hurts so much more than what I thought. It hurts more than my lungs and ribs to be crying. It hurts more than sore muscles and headaches. It hurts like a large cut on my leg.

With the barely there moonlight that shining through the dirty windows, I reach foreword and roll up my blood soaked pantleg. And I’m left with what is possibly my worst nightmare, something myself and everyone else in this wasteland tries to avoid. Something that’s the end all be all of this whole fucking apocalypse.

I try to rationalize, try to come up with another possible way this could have happened. Maybe a sharp branch. Or the fence around the fort. Or I nicked myself with my machete at some point. Anything but what I know in the back of my mind to be the truth.

One of them got me and they got me good.

Down the front of my right leg is a circular gash, bloody and oozing. Veins spiny tendrils spreading out like spider webs. It’s right then, as the silver moonlight shines on the blood that I’m well aware how dead I actually am. It won’t be long before the infection reaches my brain. And I’ll be just like the very things I’ve been running from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Chapter Two Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186874593483/something-wicked-by-zags96-part-i-chapter-two-i)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	4. Part I: Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm the idiot that JUST REALIZED i could've been putting the moodboards in the chapters themselves. So i went back in this story in did that. I'm too lazy to do it for the other ones. BUT they will be added her as well for those of you who don't use tumblr can see them too. 
> 
> I'll still be leaving the link for the tumblr moodboards, so if you're enjoying this story feel free to go there and reblog them.   
Anyway, thanks for reading peoples, y'all keep me motivated to keep writing. 
> 
> And forever thank you to Ambs and Aka for all they do for me. And the others in the chaos fambam. <3

October 12, 2026, 10:12AM

I’ve spent the past nine hours trying to figure out what to do. There’s a bite mark on my leg. Dried blood on my clothes and around the wound. For most of the hours I just sat on the floor staring at the bite thinking maybe it was just a trick of the light. Exhaustion. Delirium. But as the sun rose up and shed literal and proverbial light on it, it became clear pretty quickly that I had been bitten. Great, right?

“This is why that fucking rule is in place,” I mutter to myself. “Being hero only gets me near death experiences.”

I debated just cutting my leg off above the bite. But even if that managed to stop the infection from spreading, that didn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t bleed out. I have nothing to cauterize the wound, no antibiotics. Nothing that would keep me alive.

At this point, I’m as good as dead.

Maybe I should just end it now before I feel myself start to slip. Is it worth it to wait it out? To start to think and feel like the very things I have run from and hunted? I’m honestly not sure. I mean, how long can I really wait to do what needs to be done?

But I’m scared and alone and no part of me wants to pull the trigger on myself. And I definitely don’t want to wander where Val might be. I don’t even want to imagine what she would think or do if she saw me as a Rotter. She had to kill enough people she loves. I didn’t want to be added to that list. Didn’t want Val to be left alone in the world. Sure, she’d have our new found friends and Marvel, but I know she wouldn’t be okay. I’ve seen her spiral. Seen her fall down that rabbit hole of blaming herself and putting her life at risk. I trust the others to keep her safe if I don’t make it.

The idea in and of itself hurts me more than the bite.

Hurts me more than the empty feeling in my chest at the thought that I didn’t get to say I love you one last time.

Hurts me more than when I crawled home half dead thinking that was the end for me.

But I was able to be healed. Fixed. Saved. I was surrounded by people who were helping me. This time I’m alone with the inevitable bite of death marked on my skin. There was no way to survive this...right?

That’s what I thought when I first noticed the bite. Dread. Anger. Sadness. All rolled into one thought about my fate, my life. This was the end of me. But the more time that passed, the more hours that rolled by as the sun went down and the moon rose again. I started to wonder how long it was supposed to take to turn. I have never actually seen a person turn into a Rotter of any kind. Does it take days? Hours?

All I can tell you is that it’s been almost 24 hours and nothing has happened.

No rotting skin or feral thoughts.

No unquenchable need for human flesh and brains.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I’m still Juliana, still human, still alone, still surrounded by my undead friends down below. Still royally fucked beyond belief. But what else is new?

***

After the first day, I really thought I was going to be okay. That maybe it was a different kind of bite on my leg. But as the hours continued to pass, my body started burning up. I was drenched in sweat. A searing pain radiates through my body. My blood was on fire, my body wasn’t my own anymore. Any and all the thoughts I had surrounded the absolute nauseating pain I felt. No matter what I did, the pain did not dull.

Everything ached. My body wracked with convulsions. Pain induced vomit and sweat soaked clothes.

This was really it. This was how my life ended and my undead life began. This was how I died.

As time ticked by, my vision blurred. Time slowed. I slept and woke up in a completely different spot. I walked, but wasn’t actually moving. The trees swayed, but there was no relief from the wind.  
Time and time again I found that my dreams were not real. Each night I slept, whenever my eyes were closed all I saw was Valentina. I saw her smirking in front of me when her cheesy jokes made my eyes roll. I heard her laughter, looked into those eyes I love so much, and then she disappeared into the mist. Into the haze of the delirium I was floating through. Yeah. I got fucking bit. But that doesn’t mean this weird ass death rising infeciton needs to fuck with my heart and brain at the same time.

Feverish nightmares filled my nights. Feverish daydreams filled my days. There was no stopping it. There were moments where I chased after the ghost of a woman that wasn’t there. That I talked to my mother who was long gone. I yelled at my father for abandoning me and my mother. I screamed, and hollered, and carried on about things that were nowhere to be found. I was alone in this fire tower. I was alone in this fight. I was going to be alone in my death. And no fever dreams or delirious thoughts were going to take away from that fact. There was no sugar coating it.

The more hours pass, the more the pain intensifies. Through all of this, all I can think about is Valentina. I need her to know how I feel one last time before it’s too late. I need to get a message out to her and the others. I don’t want them to find me like this. I can’t have that. Can’t have Val seeing me as a Rotter or even with a bullet through my brain.

With the minimal strength I have left I drag myself over to the radio that sits across the room. I turn the switch on and prayed that it works. Static comes through the speakers and tune the radio to the frequency that our group uses hoping that they hadn’t changed it.

“Peaches to Commander, come in,” I say through the receiver. Lexa and I are the only ones that carry the walkies with us. We were usually the ones that led the groups when we split for supply runs. But now it’s just Lexa and the silence I hear doesn’t leave a good feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Peaches to Commander, come in. Commander, do you copy?”

“Juls?” A soft voice calls through the speakers. “Baby, is that really you?”

“Val…” I sigh, a sense of calm flooding my body. It’s the first time in hours that I don’t feel the excruciating agony from the infection. “Thank god I could reach you.”

“Where are you? Please, please tell me you’re safe.” Val’s voice cracks with impending tears.

“An old fire lookout tower.”

“But are you okay? Are you safe?”

“I—I’m sorry, Val,” I whisper. “I tried, I really tried, but I don’t—I’m not going to be able to make it back to you.” There’s a prolonged silence on the other end. I know she’s crying, I can feel it in my own heart. I want to cry to, but there’s no energy left in me to do it. “I need you to know that I love you, that I will always love you. I’m so sorry, Valentina. But you need to take care of yourself now. You and Marvel. I need you to promise me you’ll stay safe and not do anything reckless. Please.”

“What am I going to do without you?” Her voice is broken, soft, barely audible through the speakers of the old radio.

“You’re going to kick ass and survive.”

“Please, let me come to you, let me help you. I’m sure we can think of some way to—” I cut her off quickly.

“I got bit. There’s no way to save me now, I tried to think of everything to fix this. To get back to you. But it’s too late, love. I’m not going to make it much longer.” I can hear her ragged breathing on the other end now, her sobs echoing through the cabin of the tower. “I love you, sunshine. Don’t ever forget that.”

I flick the radio off before she can respond. Before she can convince me to let her find me and try to save me. Before she shows up and see me dead or undead and that image is forever burned in her mind. I turn off the radio and laid down on the bed letting all the agony envelop me and lull me to sleep thinking that maybe I won’t wake up at all.

***

Okay, I’m starting to lose my mind. I slept more than any person should. Counted the number of leaves on the vines that cover the walls and windows. Read the labels on every can and box. I even created an entire alternate universe in my head where Val and I could live happily ever after where the dead stay dead. And as the sun rises for the third time since I have been in this tower, I realize that maybe I’m not going to turn at all.

All the symptoms of illness have dissipated. The pain is gone and I’m left with the confusing thought that I’m going to live.

Which seems insane to me. Never once in the past six years have I heard anything about people immune to the infection. I mean, the only living creature I know to be immune is Marvel, and that took my by surprise. So, what? Am I part dog or something?

That’s ridiculous.

What I do know is that it’s been three days since I was bitten and while I had seemingly gotten sick, there hasn’t been a single sign of infection spreading since. The wound itself has started to heal. My brain is still my own. My actions are still my own. Everything is still me. Somehow I’m immune to the bite too. Or maybe I’m just one of the lucky few that takes forever to turn. I guess we’ll find out.

But for now, I can’t stay in this tower any fucking longer. I’m out of food and running low on water. My ammo is in short supply and my machete can only do so much. If I am immune, getting through this hoard will be easy. If I’m not...well I guess it’ll speed up the process.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it out of this alive. Note sure if it’s even worth it. I just can’t imagine staying stuck in here and dying from starvation or something. At least if I try to fight my way our and die, I’ll die swinging. I have two options: run and fight or stay and die.

I debate radioing Val and the others again, but I don’t want to get her hopes up. I don’t want to call her and tell her I’m still alive just for me to die later on. At least now she can start to mourn.

So I step out onto the towers balcony near the ladder and look down at the hoard. Their teeth snap, snarls echo, but otherwise they wander aimlessly around the tower. Almost as if they’ve forgotten my existence. And that’s good, maybe I can sneak by them. Or some of them anyway.

Stay alive, I think to myself as I slowly climb down the ladder. Stay alive or Val is gonna kill you herself. Kill you and bring you back to life just to kill you again.

The closer I get to the ground the louder the sounds of the Rotters get. Luckily for me all the big ones have gone elsewhere. Pyros, Dredgers, Goliaths, they’ve all left leaving only the Rotters behind.  
And this time, I’m not entirely trapped in an alley on my own without a way out. This time I have several escape routes back into the forest to get away. Except, this time I don’t have Val running beside me. I don’t have her graceful and deadly swings to take out the Rotters that I miss. Like so many times in the past few days, I realize I am very much alone. And while that’s how I started my journey in this apocalyptic world, it’s not what I had grown used to. Not the way I’ve started to enjoy. Not the way I want to continue to travel.

As I near the ground the sounds of gunshots echoed through the area. The Rotters growls grow in volume as their heads whip in the direction of the noise. Their feet thunder away from the tower. I don’t stop to think or wonder what is happening. I rush down the ladder and drop the last couple feet to the ground. My legs propel me in the opposite direction of the noise, away from the Rotters.

I let my feet carry me through the woods. Dodging roots. Ducking past stray Rotters. Weaving through trees. The leaves blur in my vision as I race toward toward the road I can see in the distance. There are some Rotters nearby that are alerted to my presence. I don’t take the time to slow down and fight them. Don’t think I have it in me. The longer I stop to fight the less energy I’ll have to keep going to find safety once again.

Pushing past the last of the trees, the forest spits me out onto a long stretch of abandoned highway. There’s cars covering the road trying to leave the city just North. Off on the other side of the highway is empty; no cars, no Rotters, nothing but an old rest stop. I vault over the cement blocks down the median and rush toward the store. It’s boarded up and covered in overgrown vines and grass.

Behind me I can hear a new—smaller—hoard coming after me. I don’t stop to think about what could be hiding in the store. I break through the boards with my machete and push a shelving unit in front of the hole I created. It’s dark and dusty and there’s a distinct smell of rotting food somewhere in the building, but otherwise it’s silent. For now, I’m safe.

I take a minute to walk through the store and gather up some food that hasn’t gone bad. The coolers that line the wall still have bottles of water and sports drinks. It’s like I hit the apocalypse jackpot. It’s too good to be true. And I wonder what happened. Who boarded up the store and left it full of goodies that no one has tried to take since.

But as I round the corner I find the source of rotting food. And I’m almost disgusted with myself for thinking it was food in the first place.

Leaning against the wall, brains splattered behind them, is a person. It’s hard to tell exactly who is was; a tall body and dark skin is all I can make out from the otherwise decomposing body. A large portion of their arm is missing from what I can only assume is a bite. A note sits beside them addressing someone named Octavia:

Octavia, I’m sorry, I love you. - L

I leave the note alone and move away from the body. The parallels to real to my own life. Except, somehow I managed to escape the fate that the rest of the population seems to have fallen victim to.  
Back toward the front of the store I drop my pile of goodies on the ground and get comfortable ready to enjoy food for the first time in days. Without puking it back up at least. Just as I’m about to eat there’s an aggressive banging on the boards at the front door. I jump up quickly pulling out my gun. I wait silently thinking that if they’re Rotters they’ll just move on. But the banging continues.

“Hey, we know you’re in there!” A woman’s voice yells. “We got caught in the crosshairs of a huge hoard, we just need somewhere to hide.”

I say nothing.

“Please,” the woman says again. “We aren’t going to hurt you or anything.”

“That’s not reassuring!” I yell.

“Listen, bitch,” another woman’s voice joins in. “Those Rotters were trying to eat you, not us. We drew them away from you, the least you can fucking do is let us in and thank us.”

“Lizzie,” the first woman scolds. “Don’t mind her, she’s cranky.” I freeze immediately.

“I’m not cranky, I’m trying to get us in the building to keep you safe,” Lizzie huffs. The name is familiar. The attitude too. It’s something that Josie and Penelope had said a long time ago. I mean, how many Lizzie’s are alive in the apocalypse right now? Sure, Josie and Pen said they were certain that Hope and Lizzie had died, but what if they hadn’t? What If they stumbled upon me?

“Hey,” I call out approaching the spot where I pushed the shelf in front of the hole. “By any chance is one of you missing a twin?”

“Wh—What do you know about Jo—” Lizzie starts to say but the other woman cuts her off.

“Let us in and we’ll tell you,” her voice stern and non-negotiating. But the idea that the sister Josie misses so much is alive, and the friend that Pen would never admit she misses but does, are both right here with me...I couldn’t ignore it.

So I push the shelf aside and let them into the store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187039154468/after-the-first-day-i-really-thought-i-was-going)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	5. Part I: Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can Hizzie has joined the mix! They are indeed not as dead as Josie and Pen may have thought. 
> 
> I know these next couple chapters are going to be heavy on the Juls and Hizzie stuff, but I promise, Val and Juls will be reunited. And the other ships shall appear. 
> 
> Enjoy

October 17, 2026, 3:24 PM

Lizzie helps me push the shelf back into place before the three of us stand facing each other. Silence falls between us. When I heard about Josie’s twin I automatically assumed they would look alike, but I’m struck by how different they look. I mean, sure, I could easily assume they were siblings. Twins, though? Not really. Or, rather, not identical twins.

Maybe I just shouldn’t make assumptions.

“What do you know about Josie?” Lizzie starts in at me. Her tone is sharp as she crosses her arms over her chest. The stance is familiar, flashing me back to the same pose Josie held when arguing with Penelope. Cocked hip. Tilted head. Pursed lips. She’s ready to fight if she has to. I’m not intimidated in the least; honestly, it makes me chuckle.

“Come on,” I say gesturing behind me. “I’m hungry and your incessant banging interrupted my buffet of junk food.” I don’t wait for an answer. Instead, I walk away forcing the two to follow me. I lead them to the pile of food I left in the farthest corner of the store. They sit down with me on the ground without complaint. Wrappers are ripped into. Food is shoved into mouths. The only noise in the building is three starving women trying to build their energy back up by guzzling junk food. Nothing like the apocalypse to bring women together, right?

“Will you tell us what you know, now?” Lizzie asks as she wipes her mouth.

“That depends, what do you want to know from me?” I say taking another bite of a granola bar.

“How about your name,” the other woman says.

“Juliana,” I answer, “and you’re Hope, right?”

“Yeah, but how did you—” Hope begins to ask.

“Penelope told my girlfriend what happened to you all.” I shrug leaning back against the wall.

“Oh great, Satan is still alive.” Lizzie groans with a roll of her eyes. Hope shoots her a look.

“I mean, not to disagree, but she’s been an asset to our group and she takes great care of your sister.” Lizzie rolls her eyes again.

“She’s the reason we all got separated in the first place!” Lizzie raises her voice. Her anger clearly still there.

“Liz,” Hope says calmly placing her hand on her arm, “Josie left on her own to find Penelope.”

“Look, does any of that even matter now?” I interject. “Josie is alive, Penelope is alive. And contrary to what they both believe, you two are alive. So why don’t we focus on that bit, yeah?” They both fall quiet, exchanging a hesitant look before nodding.

“How did you find them, Juliana?” Hope asks. Lizzie and her look at me expectantly but the mere thought of how our group came to be sends chills down my body. I look away. In the back of my head echoes the sound of screaming me begging for their lives. The sound of fire crackling and Alacran’s taunts. The sounds of Val’s weeping as I lay next to her half-dead.

“It’s not a good story,” I say finally avoiding eye contact. Lizzie and Hope remain silent waiting for me to continue anyway. “I really don’t—I don’t think you want to know. It’s not my story to tell.”

“What the fuck happened to my sister?” Lizzie whispers harshly. Our eyes meet and I don’t know what she sees in my eyes but she doesn’t like it. She repeats tearfully, “what happened to my sister?”

“Part of the story is yours, Juliana. Please, we need answers.” Hope pleads with me as she tries to comfort Lizzie. I sigh, running a hand down my face. Both of the women across from me are bloody, dirty, and exhausted. Who knows how long they’ve been looking for Josie and Penelope or how long they presumed them to be dead? It’s not my place to tell them what happened to Josie and Pen, but I can tell them what I know. What I did. How we all met.

“I’m gonna preface this with the fact that the man responsible is dead. And I killed him.”

***  
The hole in the wall next to us is courtesy of Lizzie. If I thought this woman was vicious before, seeing her easily punch through a wall really cemented that thought for me. Granted, the wall is rotting anyway from years of wear and tear, but still. I’m impressed.

Note to self, don’t fuck with Lizzie, I think, but I could totally take her.

“Thank you,” Lizzie says once she calms down. I start to protest but she cuts me off quickly. “No, seriously, thank you. You saved my sister and our friend. We can’t possibly repay you for that.”

I grin, “did you just call Penelope a friend?”

Hope laughs, “I think she did.”

“I can’t wait to tell her, she’s going to love this.” Lizzie glares at us both but we’re too busy laughing to care. It’s easy to distrust people in this world. It’s easy to keep to yourself and not get attached. But I’ve found—thanks to Val—that connecting with people makes all of this so much easier to endure, to survive. I’m not shocked how quickly Lizzie, Hope, and I fall into a comfortable rhythm with each other. We have a shared trauma, shared connections, and Lizzie’s mannerisms remind me so much of the group I’d grown used to—of Josie. It’s a piece of the home I’ve found when I need it most.

“Is she okay?” Lizzie asks much later on.We’re side by side now. Hope has fallen asleep with her head in Lizzie’s lap. I look over at her. She’s staring off, eyes partially glazed like she’s in a completely different world right now.

“Josie? I think so,” I answer softly. “It’s hard to tell, you know? My girlfriend...she has nightmares. They’re awful to wake up to and watch her suffer through, but I can’t even imagine what it’s like for her to go through. She’s strong, she’d have to be for what she went through with Alacran and his men. And I’m sure she’s fine on her own, but I think it helped to have me with her. To have someone to wake up to that could ground her.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that Josie and Penelope went through this together and they’re there for each other right now. I can tell you’re still angry with Pen, that you blame her.”

“She made me lose my sister,” Lizzie points out.

I shake my head, “Penelope left so she would stop coming between the two of you. Yeah, she wanted Josie to grow a pair and stand up for herself, to stop letting you walk over her. But Pen left, she didn’t think Josie would follow. You can’t blame her for Josie’s actions.”

“So, what? I should be mad at Josie?”

“I mean, yeah kinda,” I shrug. “But I think you should really blame Alacran. He’s the reason they never made it back to you. They found your camp, your stuff was still there, but they went to look for you anyway. And then he took them. That’s not on Penelope and that’s not on Josie.” Lizzie stops responding and I take that as my cue to shut up. Her hand slowly strokes Hope’s hair as she thinks, and I leave her to it. Standing up, I make my way to my own little spot to sleep. There’s no use in being awake right now. We’ve all had a long day.

In the opposite corner to them, I sit near a stream of moonlight. I’m scared to look at the bite on my leg. I don’t want Lizzie or Hope to see it. I don’t want to see that it’s gotten worse. I haven’t felt sick all day. It’s as if nothing even happened. But as I roll up my pant leg to take a look, I see the bite is still there.

I can see the clear outline of teeth, the grooves deep into my skin. It’s not completely healed, not in the slightest, parts of it are still oozing. Dark veins are still spreading out from the bite. Except, the closer I look, I notice that the veins are retracting. They’re not spreading out anymore. They’re coming back in to the mark. And out of the bite mark comes dark liquid. What I expected to be red blood, was a black sludge that resembles the goo that gets all over us from the Rotters.

“Hey, Lizzie,” I call over to her, “do you have any extra bandages?”

“Yeah, hold on.” A second later a baggie with bandages and gauze lands near me. “You okay?”

“Just a cut from breaking in this building. Didn’t notice it before,” I respond as I wrapped a bandage around the bite. Tossing the bag back I give her a quiet thanks. There’s no telling what is going to happen to me. It’s almost like my body is full rejecting the infection. What else could it be? All I really know is that I’m not a Rotter today and that has to mean something.

***

“I didn’t take you for a long range kind of person,” I say as Lizzie places her quiver on her back. She places the nock of the arrow against the string of her bow turning to look at me.

“I prefer not to be covered in blood and goo, thank you.” She rolls her eyes and walks off leaving Hope and I behind. Hope lets out a laugh.

“She leaves the dirty work to me.” Hope slides a metal contraption onto her arm and grins at me. The long curved blade attached to her arm gleams in the sunlight. She flexes her fingers. “Not that I mind.” She takes off after Lizzie leaving me taking up the rear with my rusted machete that is in desperate need of a sharpening.

We walk in a line through the empty streets. There isn’t much around. Sure, there’s a handful of abandoned cars scattered around as we get closer to the nearest town. But other than that it’s almost a ghost town. Occasionally, a Rotter comes rushing toward us. But it takes a second for Lizzie to get a clean headshot. I gotta say its impressive. Though, I start to wonder what happens when there’s a massive hoard. I can’t see her sending arrow after arrow after arrow fast enough. She only has so many arrows with her and that’s taking into account the fact that she plucks them out of the mushy brains of the Rotters as we pass by her kills.

So, what? Does she also have a weird arm contraption that’s akin to Captain Hook and the Grim Reaper?

I won’t put it past her. She seems the type to carry a scythe.

But, I do have to admit, it’s easier traveling with someone who has a silent long range weapon. I don’t have to rush a Rotter. Don’t have to do close combat every single time an undead wanders into our path. Nope. Lizzie nocks up an arrow and lets it fly. I’ve barely broken a sweat and we’ve been walking for hours at this point.

“We should find somewhere to rest for a bit,” Hope suggests.. We ended up getting on the highway to avoid the potential gangs in varying towns. And after the shit I’ve run into with Valentina, I happily agreed to that plan. But now we’re walking down the off ramp trying to figure out where to go. We’re somewhere North East of the convenience store we started at. Earlier, I had told Lizzie and Hope about the rest of group heading farther North to get away from the hoard quickly. We just hoped we could find them.

“Sure, I could use a break from protecting your lazy asses,” Lizzie states blandly.

“By the time I reached them you’d already have an arrow in their head, what’s the point of wasting energy?” Hope replies earning her a huff from Lizzie.

“What about my energy?” She complains and the two begin to bicker back and forth. I stand idly by watching the interaction with amusement.

“Shut up, both of you,” I say eventually. “Lizzie uses her bow before you can lift a finger because she doesn’t want you to get eaten by a Rotter.”

“I can take care of myself, Liz.” Hope looks at her in annoyance.

“I know that, but it’s just safer this way. You don’t need to be the hero every time, Hope. You throw yourself into dangerous situations all the time, and for what?”

“To keep everyone safe!” Hope yells back.

“What about you? There’s more than just you, Hope.” Lizzie gestures between herself and me. “Juliana and I are both equally capable. Our old group were capable.”

“Our old group got themselves killed.”

“No, they got stuck in a shitty situation, shit happens,” Lizzie sighs. “I know you can take care of yourself, we all can take care of ourselves. But we can take care of each other too.” They both fell silent locked in a staring match. I shift from one foot to the other awkwardly.

“While this is fun and all, we really should get somewhere safe,” I say finally breaking their gazes.

“Right,” Hope says, “let’s go.” She leads us to the right and away from town. Lizzie and I follow behind her. The sky is growing darker the longer we walk. Rain clouds gathering quickly, filling the sky. We need to get to shelter fast.

“What happened to the rest of your group?” I ask Lizzie after a long stretch of silence.

“Some raider scum ambushed our camp one night. A few of us got away, the rest...well, I don’t know what happened to them. Hope and I escaped with this couple Lincoln and Octavia, a guy who went by Dolls, and another guy who was like the ultimate dude-bro, Sergio.”

“Where did they go?” Lizzie shrugs at my questions.

“Lincoln’s dead, he was the body in the convenience store.” She gives me a long, stoic look that I can’t read. “Groups that get separated rarely survive.”

“I hope we can be that exception,” I say firmly. She lingers her gaze on me before nodding curtly.

“I’m gonna go talk to Hope.” And with that. I was alone at the back of the pack. Just me and my machete.

***

The more I travel with Hope and Lizzie the more I want to take my machete to the face. I thought Waverly and Nicole were softies with each other. But shit, these two make Waves and Nicole look stone cold. I mean, yeah, sure, Lizzie and Hope bicker a lot. And then they turn around with those gooey ass heart eyes and “I love you’s.”

We fucking get it. You love each other. But it’s the end of the world? Can we please put that on hold so we can find the rest of our group?

If I’m being honest, I’m one-hundred percent blaming our current situation on them. If it weren’t for them, we would have seen the Rotters coming up on us sooner. But nope. Lizzie and Hope were in an “I love you more” off. And there’s only so much I can do on my own. By the time we all noticed the Rotters rushing us, we had no choice but to run.

And run we did.

Straight into Ardsford Amusement Park.

The sound of the hoard chasing us alerted every dormant Rotter in the area. And with the Rotters came every other fucking kind of undead that we’ve come across.

Oh, and clowns. Undead fucking clowns. I thought clowns were scary before they had half their skull missing and couldn’t eat me. Now they are so much fucking worse.

“Really?” I yell as the three of us take off through the amusement park. “Clowns? What’s next?” Right as the words left my mouth a deafening roar echoes through the park. We dodge around the Rotters the best we can, slicing and dicing as we go. Hope’s arm-scythe maimes and decapitates like its slicing through butter. Somewhere along the way Lizzie pulled out her duel pistols and was firing shots off. There’s no point in subtly. They know we’re here. Might as well be loud.

“Never, never ask what’s next!” Hope yells just as a bumper car comes hurtling toward us. The bumper car lands mere feet away from our hiding spot behind the ring toss booth. We all jumped back at the sound of the impact.

“How was I supposed to know a jacked Goliath was going to be strolling through the amusement park?” I huff as I check the number of bullets that I have left. Lizzie tosses me a box of ammo from her bag.

“You’ll need more than what you’ve got,” she nods her head toward the Goliath. “That thing isn’t going down with a rusty ass machete.” I load more bullets into the mag and click it back into place.

The thundering sound of the hoard and the shaking of the ground from the Goliath bring me back to the reality we’re in. Trapped in an amusement park. With clowns. Forget the other bullshit going on, there are goddamn clowns chasing after me. No part of this is ideal.

A clown charges at the side of the booth and I immediately blow its head off.

“I’m not sticking around here waiting to be crushed or eaten,” I state, voice rising up an octave as another clown appears. Before either Lizzie or Hope can react I take off away from the hoard. I can hear their confused yells as they come running after me. It doesn’t help that it’s getting darker. Or that I have never been to this amusement park before. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going. For all I know I might be leading myself farther into this undead nightmare.

And I am.

With Lizzie and Hope hot on my tail, I come colliding into the fence of the end of the park. Beside me stands a towering wooden rollercoaster, vines cling to its broken frames and Rotters mill about along the tracks. On the other side of me is a building with a ladder and all I see is an escape. Not thinking too far ahead—like on how the fuck I planned to get down—I race up the ladder and skitter to a stop on the roof. From there I can see the hoard as clear as day. Rotters, Screechers, a Goliath, and several Pyros lighting up the booths. They all rush toward us dying for a taste.

Although it appears that I’m immune to their bite, it doesn’t mean that they still can’t rip me to shreds and eat me anyway.

I also don’t want it to look like I don’t care about the infection, the less Lizzie and Hope know about my circumstances the better. At least then they won’t kill me themselves for fear of me randomly turning.

We stand on the roof side by side cautiously looking at the massive hoard we have to deal with in some way. The only question that remains is how.

“Any ideas?” I ask them. Neither respond immediately, each calculating the situation as I have been.

“Fight our way out,” Lizzie states bluntly.

“There’s too many of them,” Hope answers back. And we all go back to the drawing board. We have the rollercoaster to the right, which is absolutely no use to us in its broken state. Next to that, and a bit of ways in front of us, is a giant carousel. And on our left is one of those long, bumpy slides that would currently spit us out right in the middle of the hoard.

Not ideal.

Somehow, in a five day span, I’ve managed to break the three pivotal rules that keep us alive. Don’t be a hero. Stay vigilant. And always have an escape plan. Which, clearly, I do not.

I turn to look at the other two, but their both now trying to take out the stray Rotters that are getting to close for comfort. But the more noise they make with their guns the more of them they draw toward us.

More noise.

“Cover me,” I yell before hurdling myself back down the ladder and pulling out my machete. Again, here I am being the fucking hero, but at least my likelihood of dying is drastically reduced with my newfound immunity.

“Juliana, you idiot!” Lizzie yells, but when a Rotter goes down in front of me, I know she’s got me covered. I run toward the carousel and beg whatever higher power is out there to make this machine still operable. Rotters go down left and right as Lizzie and Hope cover me from above. The stragglers I can take out on my own with the machete as they get too near. I’m covered in blood and goo and other unmentionables by the time I read the control box of the carousel. I hit the control panel and nothing happens. Again and again and again.

“The electric panel!” Hope hollars. “None of the parks power is on!”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I curse under my breath and panickedly look around for any kind of power box. And I’m in luck—whoever or whatever is up there is listening. I raced over to the power box, flip any and all switches I can find and suddenly this side of the park is awash in light and sound. The hoard pauses and then rushes me.

“Get out of there now!” I hear them both yell as their bullets continue to fly around me. My feet carry me as quickly as I can back to the building and up the ladder. I don’t even give them a chance to yell at me.

“We need to go,” I yell grabbing both their arms and yanking them across the rooftop.

“Where the fuck are we going to—” Lizzie starts to say, but stops herself as I leap across the small gap between this building and the next. “There’s no way in hell…”

“Come with me or die here, your choice.” That time she doesn’t hesitate. Her and Hope follow me across the rooftops until we reach the top of the slides, both look at me hesitantly. Behind us the hoard is still rushing toward the noises, completely forgetting our existence. I reach beside us and grab the old potato sacks that were used on the slides.

“Here’s to hoping this bad boy still works,” I grin at the other two before heading down the slide. Not a single Rotter is nearby, and though the sack sticks in some places, I make it down quickly and without incident.

From there, the three of use resort back to our more silent weapons. Lizzie takes out the Rotters from a distance as we head back toward the entrance at top speed. Hope and I maim and maul any  
Rotter that comes too close. But the three of us make it out of the amusement park by the skin of our teeth.

We don’t rest until we are far fucking away, tucked away in a quiet corner of a completely deserted, but well stocked, house.

And, this time, I made sure to have an escape plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Chapter Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187085280878/something-wild-by-zags96-part-i-chapter-four-we)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	6. Part I: Chapter Five

October 25, 2026, 11:56 AM

We don’t stay in that house for too long. It’s too risky considering how close the amusement park still is. We all agree it’s best to keep moving after we catch our breaths. It’s hard to keep track of the days, let alone the date. I’ve been doing so since the start of the outbreak. In my mind, the mere thought of not knowing what the date made my skin crawl. I need to know that time is passing. That the days are moving by and I am moving with it. To everyone else I seem crazy. They don’t want to know what the date is or how long since the outbreak—two thousand one hundred ninety days. People only care when the seasons are approaching.

And winter is coming in fast. I can smell it in the air. There’s a new crispness to the breezes that blow through the towns. Our flannels and sweatshirts will soon not be enough to keep the chill out. But, luckily for us, the towns we have been stumbling upon have been beyond stocked.

After we left the house by the amusement park, we went North East in hopes of colliding with my group somewhere. It’s been thirteen days since I’ve heard from Valentina. Thirteen days since I knew for sure that my group, my family, was still alive. Thirteen days is an awfully long time in the apocalypse. A lot can happen.

I try not to dwell on it.

Instead, I keep my focus on the towns we pass through, staying alert for any and all threats that may come our way. Lizzie and Hope are good company. In their own way. They go back and forth a lot; verbal volleys of affection and insults. Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re together or it’s my imagination. It makes me miss Valentina more and more.

I miss her flirtatious teasing.

Her slow-growing smiles and the way she tosses her head back when she laughs really hard.

I miss having her next to me while I sleep knowing she’s there for me and I for her.

The longer I’m away from her, the longer I don’t hear from them, the bigger the knot in my stomach gets. My gut is telling me everything is fine, but doubt creeps in during the early hours of the morning and the late hours of the night. When the moon is hanging in the inky sky, I hope she looks at it too. I hope she knows I’m going to find her.

But the farther we travel, the more the knot grows inside me. The radio I snagged from one of the houses still isn’t picking up a signal from my group. I try and try again, but there’s nothing but white noise.

To make matters worse, the farther north we go the more types of Rotters we run into. The more houses and stores we find fully stocked and nearly untouched. I try to ignore it. Try to rationalize it in some way, but nothing I come up with makes any sense. These houses were well lived in. Clothes still hang in the closets, food has gone rotten in the fridge, half used rolls of toilet paper sit in their holders. Not a single thing in these houses look like they’ve been touched since the outbreak. Fine layers of dust have settled on all the surfaces. Even that hasn’t been disturbed.

If people lived here, there would have to be survivors. If there were survivors, wouldn’t these houses and stores be ransacked for supplies? But everything is still in its place. Nothing is missing or taken. It’s a ghost town. As if everyone suddenly and mysteriously evaporated. The vibe in these houses send chills down my spine.

I don’t like it. Not one fucking bit.

“It’s like stepping into the freaking Twilight Zone,” Lizzie mutters staring around the house in awe.

“I almost don’t want to touch anything,” Hope says, her hand hovering over the handle to the pantry. I nod.

“Whatever happened here isn’t good…” I say looking around the living room. A book is propped open on the arm of the couch like it’s been waiting to be picked up after all these years. Cooking utensils and bowls are scattered in the kitchen with ingredients in them. The whole house is on pause. The whole town.

Not a single Rotter or Rotter Adjacent in the area.

The unsettling question remains.

“Where is everyone?” I say, the three of us eye each other skeptically. Confusion lining our faces in abundance.

***

Standing around in this house isn’t going to do any of us any good. We divided and conquered the surrounding houses and stores. After coming to the consensus that there is absolutely no threats in the area, we split up and stocked up. Bags were filled with clothes, food, and medical supplies. And while the area is safe, it gives us all the creeps.

“I’m not really feeling staying in Casa de Twilight Zone,” Lizzie states plainly when I suggested staying in a house for the night. I can’t really blame her for that. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention throughout our time in these areas. My body is on high alert. While I don’t like the idea of staying either, it would be stupid of us to leave in favor of a more dangerous place. But I’m the minority in this case.

Hope and Lizzie lead us out of the twilight town and back onto the equally as haunting highway. I’m none too pleased. Although, we did end up with more supplies than we have ever had in the past. That’s a plus. Hope’s backpack is carrying an insane amount of medical supplies. And while it’s somewhat disconcerting that there was enough medical supplies to fill a backpack, it’s comforting knowing we’re pretty much covered for any injury we might sustain. Bandages, rubbing alcohol, a range of antibiotics, pain medication, and whatever else Hope managed to shove into that bag. You name it, we got it. And thank god we do because amidst our grand escape from the amusement park and wading our way through a flooded side street, we have plenty of cuts that need tending to.

I lead us through the nearest neighborhood from the flooded street. Each of us has blood oozing from open wounds that are in desperate need of attention. Lizzie is quick with her bow and takes out the sluggish Rotters that [are scattered] about. This is more decrepit and unkempt than the twilight town. Clearly run down and ransacked, there isn’t much to be found here. And thankfully we have already got that covered. All that’s needed now is a safe place to play doctor and sleep off the exhaustion that’s plaguing my body.

Street after street, no house is situated for good and safe use. Either there’s Rotters swarming the area or it’s too easily ambushed. None of which I will settle on. Hope and Lizzie are growing restless. They’re pissed to put it more bluntly.

“It doesn’t need to be perfect, Juliana,” Hope huffs shifting her bag on her shoulders.

“Seriously, we don’t need it to be Fort Knox,” Lizzie grumbles with a roll of her eyes. “I just need somewhere to lay the fuck down.”

“Sure, and when we’re attacked in the middle of the night by some raiders and taken against our will, you’ll wish you had been more picky about location,” I snap checking out another house. I want a location that’s enclosed enough that it’s safe, but has more than one escape route. There isn’t a way in hell that I’ll let myself or them stuck in another situation where we could die. Not before I see Val again. I can’t risk it. Every molecule in my body is buzzing with anticipation of seeing her again. The only thing that is getting me through all this bullshit with these two rain clouds is _finally_ being with Valentina. And never leaving her side again. I can’t handle the anxiety that riddles my brain—all the questions and wonders and fears that race through my mind are not worth being the hero. If I had just gone back to the group, maybe we would have had time to pack up and run. Maybe we could have fought and won. I don’t know. I can never know for sure. But at least we would have been together, at least I wouldn’t been fearing for my life and Valentina’s every second because who knows when or if I’ll turn. Who knows when or if I’ll see her again.

“Hey, Miss Perfect, how about that house?” Lizzie says with a bite. I follow her line of sight and see a street with several large houses. Each have decent yard space between them, but one all the way on the end, the one she’s looking at, has fencing all around it. As we get closer, I can see that there is a gate on each side of the fencing, there’s a balcony on the front and back sides as well. Sights for miles. Protection for days. It’s perfect.

I push past the two of them to clear the house and say, “it’ll do.”

***

Hope isn’t too cut up, hers are easily cleaned and bandaged. Lizzie isn’t too bad either. She has a few deeper cuts on her legs from metal in the flooded street, but Hope stitches it up with ease. While they’re cleaning the other up, I’m left a few feet away staring at the deep cut running beneath the Rotter bite on my leg. Too deep for me to be able to simply bandage. Too deep for me to comfortably be able to stitch it myself. The angle is all wrong, the pain I will have to force myself through will be unbearable. I know I’ll have to ask for help, but that will mean exposing myself. Exposing the bite.

I know what people do when they see a bite mark. They don’t hesitate to kill the other person, or at the very least leave them to die and eventually reanimate. My time with Lizzie and Hope hasn’t given me enough information on what type of people they are. Will they kill me? Will they leave me? Or will they hear me out?

“Hey, are you good?” Hope calls out to me. I can’t find it in me to respond. Instead, I cover the wound with a bandage and call it good enough. What else can I do? I’m afraid that they won’t believe me, then I’m left fighting my way back to Valentina. Who believes I’m dead anyway….

_Fuck_, I think immediately forgetting that I’m with the other two. All my mind hones in on is the thought that Val thinks I’m dead. Again. I put her through this again because I thought it was better than giving her the false hope with another radio call. I should have tried to contact her again. Should have at least told her I was either turning slowly or not at all. I can only imagine how she is feeling right now. Probably similar to how I felt wondering if she was dead or alive with Alcaran and his men.

Hopeless. Devastated.

I need to make it back to her. I need to make sure that Lizzie and Hope believe me when I say that I am immune to the infection. That’s the only way I can make it back to her. To make it home.

“Juliana, you’ve got a little blood on your leg,” Lizzie says as she and Hope walk over to me. I’m thinking that there’s a spot of blood seeping through my bandage, but when I look down the sight makes me dizzy. The once white bandage is now crimson and soaked through. Blood slithers and tangles it way down my leg like a spider weaving a web.

My eyes widen, a soft whisper falls from my mouth, “oh.”

“Let me,” Hope says quickly kneeling in front of me and starting to peel the bandage back.

“Wait no, don’t!” I yell pushing her hand away, but it’s too late. The bandage falls to the ground with a smack and silence fills the room. “Okay, so, I know this looks bad…”

“Juls, that’s the deepest cut I’ve ever fucking seen,” Hope mutters in shock before diving into her bag for supplies. I’m in shock too. Not because of the alcohol that Hope pours on my leg, or the needle weaving through my skin, or even from the massive amounts of blood I’ve lost. No, I’m in shock because neither of them mention the fucking bite mark on my leg. It doesn’t even phase them.

I look between the two of them. Lizzie is watching Hope work and I’m wondering what I’m missing. Did I make up the bite in some kind of fever dream? That’s what it seems like to me. No person in this world would easily ignore a Rotter bite. It’s not just life threatening to the person with the bite, but also the people around them. So why would Lizzie and Hope let me wander around freely with this bite if they thought I might turn at any second? Why risk letting me infect them and those we love?

“There,” Hope says as she finishes up. “Clean it and change the bandage frequently, I’ll check on the stitches tomorrow.” Lizzie and Hope start to walk away.

“That’s it?”

“What did you want her to do? Kiss your boo boo and cuddle you to sleep?” Lizzie snarks.

“You didn’t see the—”

“Oh, no, I saw it,” Hope says breezily.

“I’m not infected.”

“We know.” Lizzie laughs. She actually fucking laughs.

“The bite is healed, there’s some scarring, but it’s not like the others. Not like the Rotters,” Hope says.

“Okay, but how can you be so sure about that?” I ask.

“Because…” Hope trails off and exchanges a look with Lizzie. Lizzie rolls her eyes and heaves a sigh.

“Because, Rotter Brain,” Lizzie pulls the sleeve of her shirt up exposing a mark much like my own. But instead of the pink hue from mine, hers is older and blends into her skin. It’s almost if it the bite isn’t there to begin with. The only telling sign that it’s there is the undeniable shape and texture to it that is telling that she was bitten too. Only much longer ago. “You’re not the only one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187317629683/something-wicked-by-zags96-part-i-chapter-five)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	7. Part II: Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried a different way of putting this chapter together, there's a few time jumps back and forth. 
> 
> Juliana and Valentina will be reuniting soon! I promise!! It just...won't be in this chapter...

** **

**November 11, 2026, 7:19PM**

Eighteen days have passed since Lizzie revealed to me that she had also been bitten and one month since I’ve seen my group—my Valentina. There’s no guarantee that any of them are still alive. No indications have appeared that we were getting any closer to them. We stayed in the mansion Lizzie found longer than I wanted to.I thought maybe we would leave after a couple of days, but as time  
ticked by, we found ourselves getting comfortable there. No one could blame us though.

Inside the mansion was insanely beautiful, like the Twilight Town, not a single item inside of the building had been touched. At first I was hesitant, obviously. There aren’t a lot of places that are abandoned in such pristine condition. Hope and Lizzie were ecstatic. I think, in most part, because they would finally get some privacy away from me. Thank _God_ too because I don’t think I could have taken another night listening to their sickening romanticism. Not to mention the _other_ noises I’ve unfortunately heard.

_Yes_, we are currently living in the ruins of the world we used to know.

_Yes_, we don’t know what day will be our last.

But, _damn_, can y’all keep it in your pants while I’m here? I do not need to hear it. I also don’t need to be left missing the touch of a certain blue eyed woman who I may or may not ever see again.

For the first week we were in the mansion, I rarely saw or heard Hope and Lizzie. I wouldn’t have even known they were there if it weren’t for the occasionally times they ran our on supply runs.

Suffice to say, it was a lonely fucking eighteen days. But, in those days, I learned two things:

  1. My bite’s healing trajectory is on par with Lizzie’s, which only means that I am just as immune to this infection as Lizzie.
  2. The government has more to do with the outbreak than we were led to believe.

Ah, I’m telling this all out of order. Look, let me backtrack a bit.

***

**Two weeks ago:**

“What do you mean I’m not the only one?” I asked looking at Lizzie incredulously.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Seriously?” Lizzie sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m immune to the bite, to the infection, you idiot.”

“Why do you have to say it so fucking ominously?” I half shouted at her. “Just say that! You make it sound like some kind of ridiculous cliffhanger that no one needs.”

“She likes her theatrics,” Hope said, albeit a little too affectionately.

“Sure, fine, _whatever_, but it doesn’t need to be theatrical, this is my life we’re talking about!”

“Alright, Miss Sensitive, take a breather,” Lizzie took a seat next to me and started again. “I’m immune. You’re immune. We can’t get infected by the Rotters. Congratulations, one less way to die.” She paused and cocked her head to the side. “Was that better?”

“You’re insufferable.” I groaned and leaned against the wall behind me. “How long?” I asked eventually.

“Almost a year ago,” Lizzie looked to Hope for confirmation. She nodded. “We were fighting a hoard and I ran out of arrows. Close combat was my only option and one of those gooey brained fucks got me.”

“Her close combat was shit,” Hope pointed out with a satisfied grin. “

“It wasn’t that bad, you’re exaggerating,” Lizzie said shoving Hope a little. “Anyway, I didn’t tell anyone. I tried to hide it, but then the fever and delusions came. Hope thought I was just sick at first, but after the third day and nothing was helping, she checked for bites.”

“I dragged us out of our shared camp with our group,” Hope supplied. “Liz doesn’t remember most of this, but I couldn’t risk everyone else finding out. They would want to kill her immediately, and I guess I had some hope. I’d rather die with her than die without her, you know?” I nodded, completely understanding the feeling.

“After the first couple days, it got better. And then it was like nothing happened, so we acted like nothing happened,” Lizzie shrugged. “Here I was thinking I was special.”

“Sorry to steal your thunder, Blondie,” I said. “So, nothing since the first days?” She shook her head. “No pain, no fever, no signs of turning.” Again, she shook her head.

“Okay, wait—” Lizzie said abruptly. “I got bit a second time.”

“In close combat again,” Hope added with a giggle.

“Shut up,” Lizzie glared at her.

“What happened?” My heart rate picked up. The comfort I had initially felt from her confessions started to wane. I waited for the other shoe to drop.

“Low grade fever. Mild nausea.” She shrugged. “It was over in less than a day.”

“Nothing else?” Lizzie shook her head with a faint smile. “You’ve been fine ever since?”

“I’ve been fine ever since.”

And that was the most reassuring thing I had heard in a very long time. I had spent too long worrying that I would change out of nowhere. That maybe this was a false immunity. And, to be fair, we can’t be sure that it isn’t. We don’t know what happens when we die. I’ve never met another person that’s immune, and apparently neither has Lizzie.

I don’t want to find out.

***

**Two days ago:**

Lizzie, Hope, and I finally left the mansion after I had convinced them that staying that spot so close to Twilight Town wasn’t a strategic move. It was a hard fought battle, but I did come out victorious. So, onward we went, leaving behind the only safety we had found in days.

Okay, so it probably wasn’t my best idea to leave, but I wanted—no, scratch that. I _needed_ to find Valentina and the others. And I’m sure Lizzie and Hope were itching to be reunited with Josie—even Pen. Which is how we ended up on the highest elevated highway we could find. None of us have a single clue how radio’s work or how to get a better signal.

“Are you sure being higher up will help?” I asked looking skeptically at the radio in my hand.

They both shrugged. “All I know is that it’s what they do in movies,” Hope added.

“Great, we’re trusting a bunch of Hollywood bullshit,” I said.

“You have a better idea to contact your lost princess?” Lizzie said, the words biting sarcastically. “Please, enlighten us, Prince Charming.” If it hadn’t been a month of wandering the wastelands of the state with Lizzie, I would have taken offense. Probably would have lashed out with some sarcastic remark myself. But I’ve learned that fighting back with her usually leads to a long winded and entirely unnecessary battle of the wits that she’s too stubborn _not_ to lose.

Instead, I opted for a quick glare and a roll of my eyes. Hope sent me a conspiratory smirk and distracted Lizzie while I tried to the radio.

“Peaches to Commander, come in,” I said into the receiver. Static was the only noise I heard. “Peaches to Commander, please respond.”

More static comes through.

I stepped further away from the pair of women, closer to the guardrails of the highway. Behind me I could hear the other two going back and forth about which direction we should in search of the o  
others if radioing them fails.

“Commander, Doc, Princess, anyone, come in, please,” I begged through the radio. Movement beneath me caught my attention. I wasn’t expecting it. The area had been otherwise silent. What could possibly— “Lizzie, Hope, you need to come over here. Now.”

“Juliana, what’s the issue?” Hope said as her and Lizzie approached. But I didn’t need to answer that question. Below us, where there once stood a small forest, now held a line of military vehicles moving through it. Soldiers marched on either side of the vehicles. Fires began to spread out at the remaining forests. That was when we all realized what was actually happening. It wasn’t just the military moving through the land potentially giving out a helping hand. No, not even close.

“Are those—” Lizzie murmured in shock.

“Pyros on leashes? Yeah…” I answered staring wide-eyed at the scene below. The more we watched the worse it got. The vehicles were driving straight to an industrial district in the area. There are factory buildings beside factory buildings. And, while that was kind of suspicious, what really nailed the coffin shut on the whole operation was the clusters of humans tied up in the back of the vehicles.

“Where do you think they’re taking them?” Hope asked.

“The factories, duh, Hope,” Lizzie said. We all watched in horrified silence as the soldiers pulled the people out of the back of the vehicles and shoved them toward the factory doors at gun point.

“I don’t think it’s where they’re taking them that’s the question,” I said thinking out loud. “The question that I want to know is what are they doing with them?”

“All I know is,” Lizzie started to say turning to look at Hope and I, “we are so totally _fucked_.” The tension surrounding the situation is beyond palpable. We all know that at the beginning the outbreak was blamed on a scientist who accidentally created the disease. But was it really an accident? And was it _really_ a scientist that created this whole mess? I’m starting to think it was all a lie.

“Try the radio again, try it _now_,” Lizzie demanded realizing that everything we had been told had been false. That regardless of what or who created the disease, that we needed to make sure that those soldiers hadn’t captured our girls.

“Right, yeah, of course,” I said in a rush, fumbling with the radio. “Peaches to Commander, come in. Peaches to—oh fuck it. Assholes, answer the fucking radio!”  
Lizzie yanked the radio from my hand.

“Either you’re all dead or you’re going to be soon if no one picks this stupid piece of junk up and answers us!” She yelled into the receiver then released the button. First, all we heard was static, and then—

“If it isn’t the blonde devil herself, what’s up Saltzman?” Penelope’s snarky voice called through the speaker. “Surprised you’re alive.”

“Listen here, Pennywise, if you don’t—” I snatched the radio back from Lizzie.

“What’s your location?” I asked immediately.

“I don’t know,” Pen said nonchalantly. “Didn’t think you were alive, Juli. Val’s been a wreck. You thought no one could sleep with Waves and Nicole going at it; that doesn’t have shit on Val’s endless sobbing.” My heart clenched in my chest.

“Get Lexa or Val or Clarke, anyone remotely useful to us right now,” I demanded and Pen huffed on the other end. But she obliged.

“Juliana?” Clarke’s raspy voice called through the speaker. “You’re aliv—”

“Yes, yes, I’m not dead, Saltzman and her lover aren’t dead, none of you are dead. We’ve covered that,” I stammered out harshly. “What’s your location?”

“Head east up 24,” Clarke said immediately. “You’ll know where to go from there. I can’t say more, I don’t want to compromise us.” Lizzie consulted the map from her bag, giving me a time estimate of when we’d arrive.

“It shouldn’t take us more than a day to get to you. Please do not move. Do not leave wherever you are. It’s not safe.”

“Yeah, undead roam about, raiders and gangs too. We’ve had our fair share of action, Juls,” Clarke said.

“The military are rounding up people and I can only guess killing them or holding them captive. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look good, _so please,_ stay safe,” I begged Clarke.

“We will, just get here fast,” Clarke responded. We ended the conversation quickly and rushed off the highway as quietly as we could.

***

We’re now running down Route 24. A pack of Rotters chasing after us looking for their next meal. They were probably hoping for fast food not fast food. How unfortunate for them. Lizzie spins on a dime and nocks up several arrows and fires them off before either Hope or Eye could blink.

Thuds of their bodies sound across the strip of road as each Rotter falls. Leaving only a handful left for us to take on. Lizzie falls back taking out the Rotters from a distance while Hope and I go in for close combat. Her ridiculous arm scythe is effective, I give her that. There’s power behind it, power that isn’t easily generated from a hand held blade.

We’re quick. Butchering the Rotters without a struggle. Barely a sweat was broken.

Until my machete went flying from my hand after getting stuck in the skull of one of the Rotter’s. I yanked and yanked and then...it was gone. Not in the skull and definitely not in my hand. Hope didn’t see it and Lizzie, I’m not sure what Lizze might have seen. All I know is that I’m on my back with a Rotter above me nipping at me. I’m fighting them back, pushing against the Rotter and their teeth. When it dawns on me that it doesn’t fucking matter.

Oh, right. I’m immune.

So I release my grip on the Rotter’s face and it falls heavy on top of me. Teeth biting into my shoulder as I reach for the knife I keep strapped to my hip. I stab the Rotter in the head causing the body to fall limp on top of me. With a huff, I push it off and attempt to stand.

“Are you trying to test your luck?” Lizzie asks offering me her hand. I take it, letting her yank me up off the concrete. I shrug in response, a hiss slipping out of my mouth at the pain coming from my new bite mark.

“I’ve been pretty lucky this far, don’t you think, blondie?”

“Dumb luck,” she rolls her eyes.

“Call it what you want, it’s still luck,” I counter as I pull a new bandage out of Hope’s stash in her bag. I place it carefully over the bite making a mental note to clean it properly when we find the others. Walking over to a downed Rotter, I pull my machete out of it’s skull.

Lizzie scoffs, “what did your friend mean that you’d know where to go when we got closer?” I shrug, not entirely sure what Clarke was referring to. But I do trust her. Which means that whatever is supposed to lead us to them has to be something I would recognize and understand as a signal—

“Oh shit, I think I know what we’re looking for,” I say turning hastily in a circle trying to catch my bearings. We’ve traveled pretty far east on Route 24. I’m not sure how much further we could go before it changes into another route. A lot of the road is overgrown, filled with rusted cars, and the trees lining each side hang over the road. Hidden behind the trees is a welcome sign for whatever town or state we’ve entered. The once white words have fallen and crusted off the sign. Leaving behind a barely legible trace behind it. But that’s not what I’m looking at. “That, right there.”

“A spray painted butt?” Hope tilts her head.

“‘Cause you’re a pain in the ass, Juliana?” Lizzie giggles; her and Hope exchange high-fives. I ignore them and start walking toward the upcoming off ramp.

“No, it’s a peach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187523774153/something-wicked-by-zags96-update-coming-tonight)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	8. Part II: Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REUNION TIME BITCHES. Happy babies. for now.

** **

**November 12, 2026, 8:25AM**

We follow the spray painted peaches through a town called Engville. It’s not a small town, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I can even call it a town. There’s a few suburban type neighborhoods that we pass, but deeper into the town we go, the more close together the buildings get; the taller they grow. Roads are narrower. I think I smell fish?

“Is that water?” Hope asks behind me as we stand on a bridge over a off-ramp into the downtown area.

“It’s a—”

“Elizabeth Saltzman, I swear if you finish that with a sarcastic remark—”

“I was going to say fishing harbor, but damn Hope, what crawled into your—”

“Unless you can bicker and try to find the others, I suggest you shut up and keep looking.” I grumble stalking off. All they do is bicker back and forth. And after a month straight of being with them _non-stop_, I am thoroughly over it. There’s only so much one person can take. I thought I was going insane in the fort with Val and the others, but no. This is a hell I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. No wonder Pen wanted to get out.

Well, okay, that wasn’t the only reason. But that’s far beside my point.

I follow the road that the peach led me to until I come to a cross road. The street is made of cobblestone and more rough on the soles of my feet than any forest floor I’ve run through. Behind me, I can hear Lizzie and Hope walking. Their feet smacking against the uneven stone. I keep my eyes peeled for any Rotters that may appear, but so far there are none that are immediately a threat to us. Unless they’re threatening us, I don’t bother going for the kill. It’s stupid, a waste of energy, and can be more trouble than it’s worth in the long run.

There are Rotter’s to our left and right, but they’re too busy staring at their feet. I look back at Lizzie and Hope and see they’re both poised waiting just in case. Lizzie with her bow and Hope with her arm scythe—I will never get over how weird that is. Like, where did she find that or why did she make it? I don’t know. Honestly, a little scared to ask. While Lizzie is the “in your face” intimidating bitch, Hope is more subtle, but far more deadly. Lizzie holds herself as if she isn’t to be fucked with—which is still true. But Hope...Hope acts like she is unphased by everything. A rotter is chomping near her face? Doesn’t bother her. Running from bandits in some random city? Doesn’t even blink. If Lizzie is thunder, Hope is lightning.

“Peach at twelve o’clock,” Lizzie points to our left. A broken sign hanging from the outer wall obstructs the image.

“That’s more like ten o’clock,” I correct as we walk toward the building. Most of the peaches have arrows pointing toward the safe house that Valentina is in. We learned that the arrows rotate with each peach we find. The first peach point to the right and luckily we did find the next one after that. But with each passing peach, the arrow has rotated ninety degrees. The second peach told us to go forward, but when we walked straight for a while, we came across. Back tracking, we thought maybe it was the opposite. And once again when we walked behind us, we found nothing. Eventually, we put it together.

Right was Right.

Forward was Left.

Left was Backward.

Backward was Right.

And so on.

Each new peach meant a new trick direction to ward off bandits and other undesirables.

It was smart. I just wish it was something we had discussed before cause I looked like a big idiot wandering in circles trying to figure it out. After I hug Val, I’m gonna yell at her for changing it up on me.

“What way is the arrow pointing now?” I ask when Lizzie gets there first.

“Um, it doesn’t have an arrow this time,” she turns to me quizzically. “Are you sure these were peaches and not asses?” I push her out of the way and look at the image myself. But she’s right. It’s just an empty peach. No arrows, no lines, no hints. Just a plain peach.

“That doesn’t make any sense…” I whisper to myself turning around to see if we missed something. Anything. I step back into the street and find no clues to where we should go next. It’s like my group sent us on a ridiculous scavenger hunt and at the end was—_surprise_—nothing. “There has to be something that I’m missing…”

“Juliana,” Hope says, but I’m too busy rambling to answer.

“Maybe these were decoy peaches. We could have gotten the directions wrong to begin with. Fuck, that would be so much back tracking…we couldn’t even back track. We’ve erased all of them...” I continue my musings.

“Juliana, I think—” Hope tries again.

“Or maybe the lack of an arrow means that we’re here. But where’s here? Are they in the building? No...they would have definitely been on the lookout for us,” I mutter running my hands over my face. “They could be _under_ the building—”

“Hey, Prince Charming,” Lizzie waves her hand in front of my face. “Look up.” Her and Hope were staring up above the building.

“Huh? Why am I looking—” I follow their line of sight. “Oh.” Above the building and a little further back was a tall brick tower. If it wasn’t in the middle of a town I’d say it was a fire observation tower; it could have been once. But now it’s decaying, crumbling nearly. Yet, on the bricks of the tower was another peach. It was painted on in such a manner—and I’ll have to ask how they did this—that you’d have to be standing in this exact spot to make out the shape. Luckily, with each peach we’ve painted over them to hide our location.

So, we do that again. And weave our way through the town, trying to find access to the tower.

My whole body is buzzing in anticipation. In fear. In _hope_. We all know how bad hope can be, and no, I don’t mean the short brunette beside me. I mean the desire to find Valentina and our friends waiting inside that tower. The wish to find them all alive and healthy. The need to be surrounded by the only family I have left in this world; maybe the only family I’ve ever had. It’s dangerous to hope. Dangerous for me to be expectant of an outcome without any proof to back up this pipe dream. But hope is all I have right now. So hope I will.

***

I’m not sure what I was expecting when we found the tower. But I didn’t imagine it to be smack in front of a decrepit elementary school. There have been a lot of eerie places that we’ve stumbled upon lately; Twilight Town being for sure at the top of that list. But this? This knocks that out of first place.

I never once stopped to think about the kids. The ones way younger than me when the outbreak happened. I can’t recall even running into one in the quarantine zone or out here in the world. That’s the scariest part. Scary and heartbreaking. If there aren’t any in the Q-zone and there has yet to be one around, what’s the likelihood they even survived the onset of the apocalypse?

Then again...if they didn’t survive, if they were infected, why haven’t I come across any younger Rotters? So far, they seem to be at least teens and up…

“Do you think there are kids in there?” Hope comes up behind me, Lizzie not far behind. We’re stopped around the corner from the tower, not more than a few minutes walk away.

“I’m not sure I want to find out,” Lizzie breathes. “Either they’ll be infected and we’ll have to kill them. Or they’ll already be dead. Both would hurt too much to see…”

“Or they’ll be alive and we’ll have no choice but to take care of a bunch of children when we can’t even take care of ourselves,” I point out. They turn to look at me, brows furrowed, lips frowning. “What?”

“And I thought I was the heartless one in the group,” Lizzie tisks as she continues to walk on. Hope and I falling into step beside her. The road is cracked and plants sprout between them. Overgrown and slightly perilous to walk on. I can never tell where the cracks or holes are in the ground. I’ve almost eaten shit more times than I can count. But not more times than Lizzie actually has.

“I’m not heartless, just practical,” I shrug. “You really think we’d be capable of taking care of kids?” Neither of them answer. “That’s what I thought. Besides, I’m sure they scouted the area before settling.” Rounding the corner we come up to what looks like an abandoned fire station with the tower right beside it.

It’s all old bricks, spindly vines, and chipping paint. Like so many things in this shit-show of a world, it seems like it’s just been sitting here waiting. Time may have touched all these buildings, but my skin crawls remembering there used to be people here. Actual people. Not survivors or Rotters or whatever other mutant type flesh-eaters. I get this haunted feeling under my skin and inside my bones whenever the thought crosses my mind. Can there really be humanity where humans make up less than half of the population?

Probably fucking not. But I’m no philosopher or mathematician. Maybe we’re just fifty-fifty with Rotters at this point. Either way, staring up at this abandoned building next to a children’s school left me on edge. Unsettled. Anxious. Despite the fact that in mere seconds I will be running into Valentina’s arms, I’m apprehensive of what might be coming our way. Because it can’t be good. Nothing about anything I've seen recently leads me to believe it could be good.

“Well, are we going to go inside or are we waiting for the welcoming committee?” Lizzie says. With a roll of my eyes I move toward the door of the fire station. It’s boarded up like all of the windows, but I hope they will hear me. I knock a few times. And then a few more. I don’t want to make too much noise, don’t want to alert Rotters or bandits to our whereabouts. But Lizzie doesn’t have that same thought. She comes up behind me, pushes me out the way, and starts hammering on the door.

“Lizzie, what the fuck?” I yell in a hushed tone. “You’re going to alert every Rotter and their mother by doing that.”

“Hey, you sent us on a wild peach chase, the least you could do is greet us at the door!” She hollers as she continues her assault on the door. Lizzie stops for a second and looks at Hope and I. “You know, I’m starting to think we actually followed a bunch of spray-painted asses and now we’re going to die. So, thanks, Juls.”

“You didn’t have to fucking follow me,” I step back from her shaking my head.

“No? You told me you knew where my sister was, do you really think I wouldn’t? And look! You’ve led us to another dead end.” Lizzie’s voice booms through the quiet street before she goes back to slamming her fist against the door. After another couple seconds, the door flung open and a hand snatches Lizzie’s midair. In a split second, Lizzie is yanked through the door, stumbling over her feet into the darkness.

“Get in here, you idiots,” Penelope snarks.

“Oh, great, it’s Satan herself,” Lizzie grumbles as she steadies herself. Hope and I close the door behind us. It’s nearly pitch black, except for the sun light peeking through the slates on the windows.

“Hey, Penny,” I reach out and hug her quickly before Lizzie attacks.

“Don’t you, ‘Hey, Penny’ me, Juls.” She steps out of the embrace. “Valentina isn’t too happy with you.”

“Is that why they sent the devil incarnate to come greet us?” Lizzie steps into the conversation.

“Do you have any other nicknames? Your creativity is lacking,” Penelope shrugs and turns to Hope. “How have you put up with her for this long?”

“I tune her out when she’s being extra bitchy,” Hope admits earning her a light smack on the arm from her girlfriend. Pen grins at Hope and starts to walk away deeper into the darkness.

“Come on, the others are asleep upstairs.” I don’t hesitate to follow after her knowing that Val is somewhere there. “I was the unfortunate one that had to hear your obnoxious banging on the door. You do realize that noise attracts Rotters, right, Lizzie?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Lizzie calls from behind us. But I know the real truth to her words. No Rotter is a match for us. Neither Lizzie or I have to worry about the infection, all we need to focus on is killing the Rotters. Taking away the anxiety of being bitten literally takes away half the battle. The only other being I’ve come across that’s immune to the bite is—

“Oh my god, where’s Marvel?” I ask, frantically looking around when we reach the landing. Just as the name fell from my lips a bark sounds from the second floor. Claws tap rapidly on the hardwood until a smiling german shepherd stares up at me. I drop to my knees in an instant. She greets me with slobbery kisses and soft barks. “I know girl, I’ve missed you, too. Thank you for keeping Vale safe.”

She barks again.

“Who is this cutie?” Hope kneels beside me.

“Marvel, Val and I rescued her from a couple Rotters a while back. She’s immune and one hell of a fighter.” I scratch behind her ears. “Saved our asses more times than I can count.”

“Mine and Josie’s too,” Pen adds. I nod remembering the rescue mission I sent Marvel on to get Val and the others out of Alacran’s camp.

“This dog—” Lizzie starts to say and Marvel lets out another low bark. She looks down at Marvel and then back up at Pen. “Marvel saved Josie?”

“Led us and the others out a burning compound without a second thought. And straight to the safe house Juliana set up for us,” Pen shakes her head in disbelief. “Smartest dog.” Marvel walks over and leans again Penelope’s leg.

Suddenly, a new voice joins ours.

“Lizzie?” Josie says. It takes less than a second before the twins are wrapped tightly in each others arms. Quiet sobs and broken whispers fall from the air around them. “I thought you were dead...I really, really thought—”

“Me too,” Lizzie murmurs. “I never thought I’d see you again.” Hope moves closer to the pair, waiting for her turn to greet her once presumed dead best friend. Leaving Pen and I to walk off, letting the trio get back the time they’ve lost. As we’re walking away, I sneak a peek at her. Her usual smirk sits on her lips, but I watch it falter as the girls behind us continue to cry in each others arms. Everything about her demeanor changes the moment they’re out of ear shot and I know.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself, you know,” I tell her cautiously. If there’s one thing I learned in the time I spent with Penelope it was that she didn’t want anybody telling her how she felt. The problem is that sometimes she needs exactly that.

“They didn’t have to be separated for so long,” Pen says simply. “Josie didn’t need to go through what she did with Alacran…”

“Neither did you.” She shrugs and brushes off my comments. “They’re together again now, that’s all that matters. And maybe now you can stop with the one person pity party and actually get with Josie.”

“I could’ve gotten her at any time if I wanted to,” Pen rolls her eyes at me and saunters again.

“Yes, you really could have!” I rush to catch up to her. “I don’t think you see how she looks at you, Pen. Or how you look at her. Pull your head out of your pitiful ass and actually do something about it.” Penelope stops in a small hallway at the end of the building. There are a couple doors surrounding us, she points to the door to my left.

“She’s in there,” Pen says avoiding my words. “Good luck, Juli.” And with that, Penelope turns and leaves, entering a door down the hall.

“Wait—why good luck?” I call after her, but the door clicks shut and I’m left in the hallway alone. Steeling myself for what I may find on the other side of that door, I allow myself a moment to breathe before entering the room. When I push the door open, I’m expecting to see Valentina in bed fast asleep. At the very least I thought she would be tucked in waiting for me. What I find instead is Valentina standing there right in front of the door. Arms crossed and tears in her eyes.

Oh, got it. Good luck.

“I’m going to kill you,” she whispers, her voice cracking at the end. Before I can get a word out, before I can apologize, she’s stepping toward me. Her arms fly around me, her elbow cradling my neck, and her head finding a familiar place resting in the crook of my neck. I don’t hesitate to hug her back. The second my hands touch her lower back and pull her closer to me, she begins to cry. And I mean full bodied sobbing.

“It’s gonna be alright, Vale. I’m here now. It’s gonna be alright,” I repeat again and again. Not just for her, but for myself too. Because despite the adventure I’d been on the past month, I have wanted nothing more than to be with her. To hold her close. To know that she is alive. Now I’m finally here. The relief I feel is overwhelming and I find myself crying with her. We are here, we are together, and no matter what we face, it’s gonna be alright. It has to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187674339243/something-wild-by-zags96-part-ii-chapter-seven)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	9. Part II: Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....I'm like super sorry for what I'm about to do....

** **

**November 12, 2026, 9:06PM**

Being in Valentina’s arms after so long apart was like coming home. I have been running and running this whole time searching for her. And here I finally am; wrapped tightly in her arms in a small room with only the silver sliver of moonlight to brighten the room. We’re not crying anymore. The initial reunion tears disappeared and what was left was two emotionally and physically exhausted people.

“I thought you were gone,” Val whispers, brushing hair off my forehead, tucking it neatly behind my ear. Her eyes find mine where my head rests on her chest. “You radioed that you were bitten and I—” She shakes her head. “How are you alive?”

“That’s a question I don’t have an answer to.” Her hand brushes over the bandage on my shoulder causing me to flinch. “I guess I’m just immune. For whatever reason, Lizzie and I can’t turn from a bite.”

“But you could from something else?” I sigh and shift my weight, slinging my leg over hers effectively tangling us together.

“Maybe, I guess…” My fingers lazily trace patterns across her stomach. “I think when I die, I’ll probably turn, rot.” Valentina tenses under me at the mention of my death. I don’t blame her. For a month she thought I was dead. Gone from her and the world we know it. And now here I am, standing—well, laying—before her telling her that I can’t turn into a Rotter. But the question of my immunity and mortality keep coming up. I hate talking about it as much as she does, there’s just no way to avoid it. Not when our entire existence revolves around the living and the dead. I’m treading a fine line between the two.

“Can I—” she says with her fingers playing with the edges of the bandage on my shoulder. I nod and push myself up into a sitting position.

“The one on my leg isn’t as bad,” I mention shifting next to her so she can pull the bandage off.

“You have more than one?” Val’s voice rises.

“We ran into some trouble coming into town…”

“You’re trying to test your luck.” Her fingers ran over her brow heavily, thumbs pushing firmly against her temple before she throws her hands in the air.

“Funny, that’s not the first time I heard that one.” I laugh mirthlessly.

“This isn’t a fucking joke, Juliana! Your life isn’t—just because you’re immune doesn’t me your invincible.” Val stands from the bed, pacing along the small expanse of floor beside the bed. “From the second we met you have always been devaluing your life and your worth. But I never thought it would come to this blatant disregard for yourself. For fucks sake, Juls, you ran off into the woods with a massive hoard on your heel. And for what?”

“To keep you safe,” I state calmly as if it's the most obvious reason—and to me it is.

“Stop thinking your life has no value. Stop risking your life for others. We are all more than capable of taking care of ourselves,” She stops her pacing to look at me finally. “At the very least, let us help you. You are not Atlas. You do not need to be the sole person bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“I can’t lose you,” I whisper, our eyes connecting from across the room.

“Then stop it with the heroics and suicide missions,” Val strides over to me dropping to her knees at the edge of the bed. “We’re a team, you and I. Where you go, I go. So let me help and stop being so stubborn, Peaches.” Her hands wrap gently around mine, those blue eyes that I have fallen so deeply for searching mine.

“I love you.” I lean forward, pressing my forehead against hers.

She smiles, “I love you.” Her lips meet mine in the most tender kiss. It’s not rushed, or heated. It’s like a dwindling fire; still hot and passionate, but subtly so. We kiss not like our lives depend on it, but like our lives are used to it. We are two souls meant to come back together again and again, despite the odds, despite the obstacles. Valentina and I are inevitable.

***

“You’re immune?” Lexa asks the next morning incredulously. Clarke looks between Lizzie, Hope, and I with a similar expression. Honestly, I don’t think any of them believe us. They gave us the night to rest, to reunite with our loved ones, but the moment we were the three of us were pounced on. Lexa, Clarke, Waverly, and Nicole are on the offensive. Question after question of what happened from the moment I left camp to the moment we made it back here. Marvel continues to beg for attention, bring stick after stick she finds and drops them at our feet. Eventually it's no longer just sticks—yes, she brings us a few Rotter limbs to add to her little pile. 

We’re all sitting around the remains of a long table. I’m assuming this was once a dining table in the old fire house. It’s long, a little unstable, but as long as we don’t lean on it, we’re safe. Makeshift chairs and what seen to be old beams from the building cluster around the table for us to sit on.

“We’re standing here, aren’t we?” Lizzie says. Her tone is harsh, unwavering; Hope elbows her side. “What? Our brains are clearly not rotten. Our bites are healed—expect for Juliana’s new one—and no part of our personality has changed.”

“That’s apparent,” Penelope mutters.

Lizzie continues, “we’re immune, I’m really not sure what’s hard to grasp about that, Commander.” I can see Lexa’s expression change. Her curiosity fades away leaving behind the coldest look I’ve seen.

“I’m not going to apologize for being thorough if that’s what you’re looking for,” Lexa looks Lizzie dead in the eye. “You’re new here, let me break it down for you. We protect our own. Letting you into this group without assessing your threat to our lives and our safety would be grossly ignorant.”

“Then why am I the only one being scrutinized?” Lizzie fires back, turning to me. “Juliana was bit as well and no one is looking at her twice. Or is she being excused from this interrogation because she saved your life from that rapist.” Lexa and the other women flinch.

“Lizzie,” I snap at her, “knock it off. Lexa is doing what she needs to. We can’t be anything but cautious right now. Shut the fuck up and let her, or leave.”

“Lexa, why don’t Nicole and I look over Lizzie and Juliana’s bites,” Clarke suggests quickly. She stands and gestures for us to follow before Lexa or anyone else can object. I offer up mine and Valentina’s room as a pop-up hospital. My bag already has some medical supplies in it after trading a few things with Hope a few days ago. Val follows us into the room, leaving Marvel behind us to play with the others, and closes the door behind us.

“I’m sorry about Lexa,” Clarke says as I hand over my bag of supplies. “She’s protective, and overly cautious. I know if Juliana trusts you that we can too.”

“I get it, but I don’t need the third degree.” Lizzie takes a seat on the edge of the bed and I take one next to her. Clarke instructs us to either roll up the clothing hiding our bites or remove them. Val is rifling through the supplies, surprised murmurs falling from her lips.

“Where did you get all of this stuff?” She looks at me holding bottles of painkillers and random antibiotics.

“The craziest shit, Vale,” I say before I tug my shirt over my head. The strap of the sports bra I found a few weeks prior is soaked with blood from my day-old Rotter bite. “We found this entirely empty and barely touched town.” Clarke, noticing the blood, comes over to me first.

“An empty town?” Nicole asks peering at Lizzie’s healed bites. “No people?”

“Nope, or Rotters,” Lizzie adds. “Nothing was even touched or moved.”

“We found all kinds of supplies. The pharmacy was still fully stocked. We grabbed what we could.” Clarke peels back the bandage and there’s a collective gasp from everyone but Lizzie. She’s busy rolling her sleeves back down and standing up.

“Thanks Doc, make sure to give the Commander my clean bill of health,” Lizzie states before sauntering out of the room. None of them even fully register what she says because they’re all staring at my bite mark. A mix of shock and horror are etched in the lines on their faces.

“What?” I say turning my head and peering at the mark. “It’s not that bad.”

“Looks pretty bad to me,” Nicole whispers.

“Not that bad…” Valentina pulls her eyes away from the mark and looks at me. “Not that bad? You’re kidding, right?”

“Val,” Clarke warns lowly. “Juliana clearly survived the previous bite, she’ll be fine.” But even Clarke doesn’t sound convinced. To be fair, the bite mark does look pretty bad. The first bite was bad, I remember that much. Bloody, deep, blackened veins trailing away from the wound.

This bite looks pretty similar. Though, honestly, it does look much worse. Probably to do with the fact that I noticed this one immediately, verses several hours later.  
Adrenaline is both helpful and hurtful. At least I didn’t feel the pain of the first bite. This one? This one hurts like a fucking bitch.

“Really, love, I’m okay.” I attempt to say it with certainty. But my voice wavers as I shift my arm. Val shoots me a look. “I’m not dead, or dying, that’s pretty much all we can ask for.” She shakes her head, walks over to me, and sits down beside me on the bed. Her hand snakes her way into mine and she remains silent as Clarke starts to work on the wound. Nicole hands her supplies as she goes; saline solution, stitches for the deeper parts of the wound, and a bandage to cover it all. Val doesn’t move as Clarke and Nicole dance around us. Fixing. Patching. Cleaning.

By the time they finish, the others have laid out the supplies we all have. The four of us walk out of the room to find contents strewn across the floor in neat piles. It’s glaringly obvious to us that there isn’t enough food, clothes, or medical supplies for ten people.

Just our luck, right?

***

You know the whole “heroics” thing that got me into this whole mess in the first place? And how I basically promised Val not to do it again, or at least not to do it alone?

Yeah...I did it again.

Somewhere between realizing we needed to scavenge for supplies in the school and stumbling upon a pack of Screechers, I thought, “Hey, let’s really risk my life and piss Valentina off.” Which is exactly what I did.

We all left the fire station and walked into the school with ease. Everything seemed to be off to a good start. No signs of bandits or Rotters. Just a pack of women wandering through the halls. It’s not like we were stomping through the building like a herd of ungraceful wildebeests. We were careful. Quiet. Which was supposed to go in our favor. We were supposed to make it out of the building with extra medical supplies, maybe some food. Instead, the ten of us rounded the corner of the hall and found several Screechers shuffling aimlessly.

Only one thing went through my mind; I’m immune. And sure, Lizzie is too. But I didn’t stop to think about this too hard. I just saw an opportunity and took it. Everyone else was slowly backing up, pulling their melee weapons out for a fight if need be. Marvel sticks by my side, her teeth bared ready to fight. 

As our third rule goes: don’t kill avoidable undead.

Can you guess what I did? I broke that rule. There’s a theme to this whole story. I’m rule aversive. Sue me.

With everyone moving away and not paying close attention to me as much as they were to the noises they were making. I took this golden opportunity to do something stupid. In my mind it was strategic, to everyone else, especially Val, it was suicidal.

I smacked my machete against the wall and yelled, “come get me.”

“Jul—” Val started to yell but immediately fell silent as Lexa covered her mouth with her hand. The nine of them took off back the way we came dragging Valentina with them. I half expected Marvel to stick with Val. If I'm protective over Valentina, Marvel is even more so. But she stayed, and let out a bark along side my yell. AS I ran, I made as much noise as I could moving in the opposite direction. Their screeches followed. I just hoped that their screeches were limited to the building. Last thing I needed was more undead to deal with.

It wasn’t a difficult fight. Especially when I’m not worrying about being bit. I hid in the doorway to a classroom and took off their heads one by one. Marvel followed my lead. She snapped at those I missed or dragged them into my reach. A duo of immune beings slaughtering undead one by one. Not bad.

No other undead came to find me. There was no earth shaking steps of a Goliath, no fire from a Pyro. Nothing. Which led me to believe that Screechers call is only effective outside of buildings.

At least I had good news to share with the others when I found them.

***

Okay, despite the good news, they’re all mad at me. I mean, it’s fair. I definitely shouldn’t have done that. But the result was just fine, so I really don’t think it was in vain.

“You really don’t care about your life do you?” Val says as she paces in front of me. We’re all standing in the middle of a dilapidated library, surrounded by ruined books. If I wasn’t being yelled at right now, I would be in mourning.

“Valentina,” Lexa tries to cut her off, ever the diplomat.

“No, I’m pissed!” Val continues her tirade. Marvel whimpers. I don't know if it's on my be half or not. “From the moment I met you, you’ve always had to be this sacrificial body for danger. You let that raider hold you hostage at gunpoint and made me shoot you. You wanted me to leave you behind to die in the woods. Fucking hell, you thought it was best to be alone to lead a hoard away instead of letting us help.”

“In my defense, I was left unsupervised for that last one…” I attempt to point out, earning daggers from Val. All the fight and sarcasm inside me withers away from that gaze.

“We were all one radio away from helping you, and you decided that you were better off on your own!” Valentina continues.

“I didn’t want—”

“Any of us to get hurt? Look at yourself, Juliana! You are hurt. God, I thought your heroics were bad before you found out you were immune, but this? This is a completely new level of disregard for your life." She stops pacing and looks at me carefully. “Do you even know if your immunity carries over to other strains of undead? What if you weren’t immune to a Screechers bite, then what?”

My stomach sinks. “I didn’t think…”

“Of course you didn’t,” she says shaking her head slowly. “You never think about your safety. We’re all grateful for the sacrifices you have made to keep us safe, but not a single one of us wants to see you dead. We are all capable of fighting for ourselves. But we’re safer together.”

“Vale, I’m—”

“I really don’t want to hear your apologies,” she sighs. She runs her hand down her face, exhaustion clear on all fronts. “I can’t do this with you anymore. The worrying, the arguing. I’m clearly the only one out of the two of us that cares about your life, and it’s exhausting.” She starts to walk away from the group. Everyone else is staring at us in awkward silence. Marvel sits between her two moms, head moving side to side watching us volley. Small whimpers emitting on and off. 

“Valentina, please,” I go to chase after her. “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.” I reach for her, grabbing her hand. “Please…”

“I love you, but I can’t keep doing this,” she pulls her hand from mine and disappears out the door of the library. Marvel hesitates and looks at me for a moment. I pat her head nodding, and she follows hastily after Valentina before the door swings shut. Penelope looks over at me apologetically but follows after her quickly with Nicole and Waverly on her heels. I'm left with the pitiful glances and softly spoken comfort from the others. None of it fills the black hole rapidly opening up inside me. And I have no one to blame but myself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187830522993/something-wicked-by-zags96-part-ii-chapter-eight)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	10. Part III: Chapter Nine

** **

**December 13, 2026, 12:29AM**

It’s been a while. Not much has really happened if I’m being honest. The shocking twist is that out of all the people in the group, out of _everyone_, Lizzie has been the one that has stood by me. She’s comforted me, talked to me, let me third wheel with her and Hope. It’s how we traveled before, but it was different now. Different because Valentina walked ahead of me laughing with the others in our group like I’m not behind her wondering how I can fix us.

The days really start to drag by when I’m not even focused on surviving anymore. When the last thing on my mind is remaining alive because every square inch in my head is filled with Valentina. Where I went wrong. How I can fix it. I just want to fix it.

That’s where I am now. In another random town, in another scoped out house, laying on the nearly broken couch thinking. Marvel sleeps in the room with Val, probably occupying the space I once did. The others are paired off in their own rooms or secluded corners. Even Josie and Penelope have, somewhere along the way, come together. Which just leaves me.

My nights are spent entirely alone keeping watch. Sometimes Clarke, Lexa, or Nicole wander out offering to trade off, but I can’t sleep anyway. So I stay up and sharpen my machete. Clean my gun. Divvy up ammo amongst everyone.  
Which is what I’m now doing. Except there really isn’t much left for me to do since I’ve done this every night since Val broke up with me.

“Suggested a break,” I mutter with a sigh. What did I expect to happen? How many times could I put my life at risk without losing it? Sure, yeah, immune to Rotters. But Val brought up a good point: who says that immunity is across all types of undead? Who says that a bite from a Screecher wouldn’t turn me? Neither Lizzie or I have an answer for that, and trust me, we’ve discussed the possibilities at _length._

Immunity to a Rotter bite doesn’t mean I can’t die in a million other ways. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to lay down and stop trying to help people. Even though helping people is what got me into this mess in the first place. One puppy eyed look from Valentina and I was willing to let a stranger into my life. One plead for help from her and I was a goner. Now here I am with seven other people who needed help and I risked everything to do just that—to help them.

“Lamenting to your inner demons again?” Penelope says walking into the main hall of the house. I had pulled the couch into the front of the house; it gave me clear sightlines to the front door and back door. Just in case. Penelope leans against the door frame and watches me.

“What are you doing up?” I ask, glancing back down at the blade in my hand. “You don’t need to keep watch, I’ve got it covered.”

“Clearly.”

“Not in the mood for whatever this is,” I gesture between us. “Say your piece and go.” I keep my eyes fixed on the work in front of me. Her footsteps come closer. The couch dips.

“I’m here to offer you help.”

“I think I can manage to sharpen my machete myself,” I scoff. Her hand comes toward mine, pulling them away from the weapon. “Fine. I’ll bite. What do you have to offer?”

“You helped me with Josie, I can help you will Valentina.” She tilts her head adding a smirk for good measure.

“No thanks.” I reach for my machete again.

“It doesn’t seem like you have a plan or a care to fix it,” she points of. That grabs my attention.

“You think I don’t care to fix us?” I glare at her, eyes boring into hers. She doesn’t flinch. Not that I thought she would.

“Certainly how it looks, Juliana.” Penelope’s eyes soften. “She loves you.”

“If she did she wouldn’t have broken up with me.”

“She’s worried.”

“I haven’t died, I know how to keep myself safe,” I say. Pen shakes her head.

“You’ve risked your life on several occasions. Each time you’ve come back half dead, and this last time you thought—we all thought—you were dead.” It’s quiet for a moment. The wind rustles the trees outside, branches smack against the windows. I wait. Maybe danger will call. Maybe I can escape this conversation because of it. But the wind calms. The leaves still. “You don’t need to risk your life to keep hers safe. There are no heroes in this world. There’s only the dead and the living, and we all do bad things.”

I drop my head in my hands. A heavy sigh falling from my mouth.

“Nothing I did was to be a hero, or feel heroic. I don’t want to be a hero. Fuck. All I wanted was to keep Valentina safe. And somehow,” my voice raises steadily, “_somehow_ those actions turned into me being a hero with zero regard for my life. She is my life, Penelope. She’s all I have left and I would do anything to keep her safe.”

“Have you stopped to think that her safety isn’t just bound to the physical?” I frown. She tries again, “her body, Juliana. Her safety isn’t just about whether her body is hurt or not. What about her heart or her mental health? Just because she’s physically safe doesn’t mean she’s safe from other aspects. You risk your life, you nearly die, and you still don’t see that you’re hurting her. She’s not safe from that pain.

“Every time you run off to ‘keep her safe’ you’re hurting her more. Valentina is strong. She’s watched her family die. She’s almost lost you. If she’s your life, imagine what you are to her. Imagine being in her shoes, watching her leave time and time again, each time coming back bloody and bruised.” Penelope stands up, brushing her pants off, and gives me a sad smile. “Valentina loves you, Juliana. But if you’re gonna be together, you need to be in it _together_.”

Just as quickly as Penelope appeared she’s gone. The only evidence that she was even here is her words echoing in my head, and the dull ache in my chest. I lay on the couch, machete on the floor beside me—just in case—and try to accept what Penelope told me. Maybe I’ve put Valentina’s life before mine too many times. But I thought that’s what I should do. That’s what I wanted to do. Now I’m left wondering why I don’t put our lives on the same level.

I’m once again brought back to our first fight, the first time Val was upset with me for this very reason. I didn’t place value on my life, not like she did. It has always been me against the world. I grew up with a dad who loved crime, and a mom who loved him. Where was I in that hierarchy? At the very bottom, obviously. Seeing as they both abandoned me at the end of the world.

And then Valentina showed up. And Marvel. And the others… Now it’s not just me against the world. It’s myself and the rest of my new found family. Before, in the grand scheme of things, my life was minuscule. I was an accident. An unhappy accident in a marriage that should never have happened or lasted. I was born with a life of little value and I never tried to change that. Never tried to look at myself in a new light.

I have a beautiful, kind, deadly woman who loves me, sleeping in a room down the hall with a dog we’ve grown to love as our own. In the middle of the apocalypse we have built and found a family that is willing to protect us and vice versa. This is not the way I imagined my life going. Not at all how I envisioned the way I would come into my own. But  
I see it now.

I am not subservient. I am not a means to an end. I am not a hero.

I am an equal.

***

At some point I had fallen asleep. But I’m wide awake now. The rustling and creaking initially sounded like the branches and leaves from earlier. Sounded like the wind playing tricks on the paranoid at night. This time it’s different. Steady. There’s a familiar shuffle to the sounds. I get up from the couch and steal a glance out the window doing my best not to make a sound.

Outside the world seems dead—and in a way it is. The last of the leaves tumble from the barren trees. Brown and crunchy beneath our feet during our travels. Hard for us to remain hidden, but easy for us to hear the undead shuffling our way. I trust my ears more than my eyes in this instance. Though the moonlight sheds a silver shred of light on the street, there’s not enough light to discern a tree from a Rotter.

My eyes fall shut for a split second. That’s when I hear it. The crunch of the leaves. The unbalanced but steady steps of Rotters shuffling toward the house. Not easily altered by small noises, I pull the door open to get a better look.

That’s when I see it. Or, rather, them. A lot of them.

All Rotters, none of those special mutated types. But still, dangerous as they move closer toward the house. There’s at least thirty of them. Small enough that I could take them on myself, but large enough that I don’t think it would be without risks.

I don’t want to wake the others. Don’t want to cause alarm when there isn’t any. But I can’t tell for sure if that’s all of the Rotters around. And I can’t make these decisions alone.

_If you’re gonna be together, you need to be in it **together**._

I wake the others up room by room, starting with Clarke and Lexa. They’re cutely intertwined on their bed. Bags at the foot of the bed. Pistols on the nightstands. And...they’re both shirtless. Great. Cool. Wait, Lexa has a back tattoo? That had to fucking hurt—focus, Juliana.

“Lexa,” I say shaking her awake. She bolts up, pistol in her hand in an instant, aimed at my head. I avert my eyes. “Hi, yeah, it’s me. Put the gun down please.”

“Juliana, what the fuck,” she hisses pulling the blanket around her.

“Right, sorry, did not think you would be—” I look down and back up quickly, heat rushing to my face. “I mean, not that you’re not—I mean...what I’m trying to get at…”

Clarke sits up that moment, arms stretching up, blanket falling away. “Hey, Juls.” Lexa glares at Clarke. “Trying to flirt with the Commander?”

“What? No, that’s not—” She smirks. “I hate you. _Look_, I came in here because there’s a group of Rotters, thirty or so, coming this way. I don’t know if there’s more or not but I didn’t know what we should do.”

“Surprised you didn’t go fight them yourself, Super Juls,” Clarke says playfully.

“I’m working on that.”

“Go wake the others, tell them to pack up and get ready to leave. Small hoard or not, there could be more,” Lexa tells me curtly. I nod and start to leave. “Thank you for telling us, it was the right call. We’re stronger together.”

“Yeah, together,” I repeat and leave to wake everyone else up. I’m more wary when entering room now. I don’t need to be scarred for life anymore. Nicole and Waverly were already awake, chatting quietly in bed. They’re quick to get ready. Lizzie and Hope were the easiest to wake up thus far, but the hardest to shut up. Both women joking that I was making up reasons to wake them up just to slowly convince them for a threesome. No amount of denying it shut them up. Eventually I just left. Josie and Penelope were harder to wake up. Mostly because every time I tried to shake Penelope awake she would punch me and tell me to go away.

Waking up Val is the hardest one. Everyone else is quietly shuffling in their rooms preparing to leave. But Val remains asleep. Marvel is by the door when I enter, sitting quietly and wagging her tail. She rubs against me before trotting out the door to investigate the noises. Valentina is still in bed, tucked nicely on one side of the bed. Her arms wrapped around a pillow, body curled into the smallest ball. I walk up to the side of the bed and kneel beside it. I take a moment to brush her hair off her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. She stirs. Eyes slowly blinking open. Bleary blue eyes stare back at me.

“Juliana?” Her voice soft and coated in sleep. “What are you—” I try to smile, try to look at her like my heart isn’t breaking knowing she sleeps alone; sleeps without me. The smile wavers on my lips despite my best efforts. “Are you okay?” She sits up quickly, hands shooting out to check for injuries. My smile turns watery.

“I’m not hurt,” I whisper. It’s the only way I can keep my voice steady. “Um, I heard some Rotters coming our way and went to check it out—I mean...I peered out the door. There were a lot, and I didn’t know if there were more. So, I, uh, I woke Lexa up and she said we should leave...so yeah. I don’t know why I told you all of that. I could’ve easily just—” I sigh.

“I’ll pack my stuff,” Valentina says offering me a silent escape from the rambling hell I’ve found myself in.

“Right, yeah,” I nod and push myself to my feet. “I’ll, um, catch you out there.” And, as if that phrase itself isn’t worthy of digging myself a grave. I finished it off with finger guns. I backpedal out of the room, closing the door behind me and leaning against Eye closed, head tilted up asking for any deity listening to just fuckign smite me.

“Really? _Finger guns_?” I scold myself. Where did that even come from? I blame the twins. “Nice, Juliana, you dumbass.”

“The finger guns were a nice touch,” Val’s voice calls from behind the door.

Can I just die right now?

“Oh, um, thanks. Bye,” I rush out hastily and move down the hall away from her door before I start cursing at myself.

“That was peak dumbass,” Lizzie says as she walks by with Hope.

“Not helping,” I groan.

“Come on Prince Charming, we’ll help you pack your shit up,” Lizzie offers. Hope nods and the two drag me away from me socially awkward hellscape that I created.

***

We’re able to sneak out of the back of the house without a problem. Ten women and a dog. It’s no easy feat doing that without making a noise. Yet, somehow we pulled it off. Working as a team, a unit. Though Lizzie and Hope are new to the group, they aren’t new to the ways Josie and Penelope operate. With the two of them integrated into our group, Lizzie and Hope find it easy to follow their lead. I think I’m the only one who feels out of step.

Valentina is near the front of the group with Clarke, Lexa, and Marvel. I take up the back of the pack with Nicole and Waverly. It’s not that I don’t work well with them, I do. But I can tell that they are only back here with me to keep me in check. Color me surprised. Of course I’m given a goddamn babysitter while we travel.

I try to pay them no mind and keep vigilant.

After the initial shock of waking up to a hoard of that size, I started to really think about how they made it this far. It’s not like we’re the only group of survivors roaming around the wasteland. We are by no means the strongest group either. So, I ask myself again, how did a hoard this large, in the middle of a suburban town, not get dwindled down along the way? It’s not like we are in the middle of the woods. Or in a town with absolutely no signs of life. We are in a nice town, a town where people certainly have passed through, a town that people would be stupid to not at least spend a few nights recovering in. Yet there is this hoard easily bumbling through the streets without a care.

“This isn’t right,” I whisper to Nicole and Waverly as we make it a safe distance away from the hoard. I can still hear them in the distance though.

“I’ve been saying that for years,” Nicole nods.

“I meant their presence in this area doesn’t feel right.” The couple shares a look. “You don’t think so?”

“Maybe it’s odd that a group of Rotters so large is still on the move,” Waverly says, “but we also didn’t stop to kill them either.”

“Other survivors may be doing the same thing.” Nicoel shrugs. “They’re not worth it.” The three of us walk over to where the rest of the group is huddling by a tree. Clarke and Valentina are in a rapid back and forth in hushed tones. Val’s arms are crossed, face set like stone, and I know she means business right now. It’s the same look she gave me the day she broke it off with me.

“You seriously think that a group of Rotters wandering together is something to cause a panic about?” Clarke says softly, firmly.

“It wouldn’t hurt to check out where they were coming from, that’s all I’m saying.” Val stands firm.

“Juliana was just saying something was off about the hoard,” Nicole supplies in the tense silence that falls between the other women. I punch her arm. “What? You were.” Waverly and Lizzie snicker.

“Well, if you two think something so devious is going on, why don’t you go check it out yourselves,” Lexa adds. Eyes flicker between Valentina and I. I’m too afraid to look anywhere but the space between the branches stretched out toward the winter grey skies. I don’t need to be looking to know that blue eyes are burning holes in the side of my face.

“The two of us…” Val says slowly.

“And Marvel, too, of course,” Lexa says. Marvel’s tail thumps against the frozen soil beneath her fur. “We have a spare radio. I promise, we won’t go far, you can contact us once you know what’s up.”

“Peaches?” Val’s voice calls out to me. Soft. sweet. Like old times...my heart aches. “What do you say, come on a bit of a trip with me?”

The last thing I think I can handle is being stuck with her alone. My body still buzzes when she’s beside me. When she speaks to me. Everything stops, but my heart continues to race on. How can I stay safe, have her back, when I can’t think straight?

I’m scared to look at her because I know I will cave. One look into those ocean eyes, those riptides, I know I’m a goner. But maybe this is how I can prove myself to her. If I go with her I can work with her not trying to protect her at the expense of my life.

Part of me is still on the fence when I finally look at her. And that’s what did me in. Val smiles at me, it’s small, kind of sad. The kind I know she gives when she’s out of energy but can’t help but smile.

“Okay,” I say, smiling despite the kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering through my body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/187966935623/something-wicked-by-zags96-chapter-nine-update)
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> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	11. Part III: Chapter Ten

** **

**December 15, 2026, 7:19AM**

Val and I are on good terms.

Okay, maybe good is an overstatement. We’re on tentative terms, walking on ice that creaks beneath our feet but has yet to give away. After Val and I left the others to explore the off-putting groups of Rotters we didn’t speak. At least not to each other. Honestly? We used Marvel as a middleman.

“What do you think, Marv?” Valentina asks the dog trotting between us. “Are we going the right way?”

Marvel lets out a low woof.

“I agree,” I nod along, “definitely this way.” I hear Val hum in agreement and we continue on in our mutual silence. Which is awkward to say the least. Once we were inseparable. We were a force to be reckoned with. We still are...just in a different way. A separate way.

I hate that I did this to us. That it was nothing more than the repercussions of my own falsely heroic actions that landed me in this situation. And, I know I say this a lot, but can you honestly fucking blame me? Can you tell me that, given these circumstances, you would have done it differently? If the person you love more than anything in the world is in danger, and that taking a life threatening risk would save them, you’d sit idly by?

Alright, I’m sure someone is thinking, “no one asked you to sit idly by, Juliana.”

Sure, fine, that’s not wrong, but I did what I needed to keep Val safe. Why is that so wrong? Why is that something everyone sees as my fatal flaw?

Yeah. Okay. Maybe I could have died...like her dad did. Like her brother, and sister, and her step mom. Maybe I would be rotten, and flesh hungry, and she would be all alone again. Maybe she couldn’t stand to watch me keep leaving and coming back because what if I didn’t come back. What if the last time she watches me leave is the last time she watches me leave?

Maybe that is what’s so wrong with me trying to keep her safe; I’m not keeping me safe in the process. I’m focused on her. I will do anything for her, especially to keep her safe.

oh.

Oh.

OH.

All the gears in my head click into place. Everything that has been boiling up and up and up from the very beginning with Valentina starts to make sense. I was listening, but I was listening to respond not to understand. I rush into danger thinking about her, about protecting her, but not about protecting myself. Valentina is the motivation I have to fight, to keep living through undead apocalypse. I can only assume I’m hers too. So how can she fight if she’s worrying about me? How can she protect herself if her mind is off thinking I’m running around like a maniac with a machete and no regard for my well being?

Short answer; she can’t.

If I’m playing hero on the presumption that I’m keeping her safe, I’m putting her in more danger. That doesn’t do either of us any good. That will only ensure we’re both dead and all this fighting and arguing were for nothing. And _we are not for nothing_.

“Marvel’s spotted something,” Valentina says. And the only reason it gets my attention is because she _actually_ says it to me.

“Huh?” Somehow I’ve managed to walk several miles without noticing. Call it autopilot or daydreaming or willingly dissociating. But we’re in the middle of the road next to a knocked down fire hydrant, a dilapidated main street storefront, and what looks to be an old street sign that just says DEAD. “Well, that doesn’t sit well with me,” I say kicking the sign with my boot.

“Really? Considering your need to risk your life, I thought you made peace with that,” Val shrugs and walks over to Marvel who’s pawing heavily at the ground. It takes me a moment to pick my jaw off the floor and join her. The two of us look around trying to gauge where the Rotters may be coming from. But there isn’t any noise. Not a single moan, groan, or shuffle to alert us. Only the sound of Marvel’s nails scratching the tar lead us to believe there’s something amiss.

“But where…” I move further up the street. There’s a four way intersection, before the street turns into a land bridge over the main route of the town. Orange construction fencing covers the sides of the bridge. Torn, fading, flapping in the wind. Old construction equipment sits on one side of the bridge, rusting and forgotten. Behind me, Valentina and Marvel appear next to me. The sounds of their footsteps barely audible above the rapid rate of my heart. But that’s not what catches my attention. None of that is.

Just like the moment Lizzie, Hope, and I stumbled upon the military bringing civilians into the factories, I’m speechless. Anxious. On fucking edge. Except this time, down below us, there aren’t civilians being brought into a factory.

“Did that military dude just let a shit ton of Rotters out of the hospital?” Val whispers leaning against the railing beside me.

“Either that or the granola bar we shared earlier was laced.”

***

I don’t know how long Val and I stay crouched behind the concrete siding of the bridge. Long enough for the sun to start setting. Long enough for Marvel to fall asleep at our backs. Long enough for my legs to go numb. We’re not even sure what we’re witnessing either. Then again, neither of us have tried to toss around theories. We’re silent. Silent in a scared way, not in the usual awkwardness that has been surrounding us lately.

Over what I assume to be a few hours, we’ve seen a lot of military dudes—soldiers?—let Rotters out of the hospital. And not just regular old Rotters. These ones seem...different. I can’t place it but it’s in the way the Rotter walks. The gait isn’t as choppy, unsure. The body is nearly pristine, and honestly, without the grey skin, there’s no way to tell that what walks out of the hospital is a Rotter at all. They’re as much human from the distance as we are. And even those of us who have been fighting these fuckers since the very beginning still mistake the silhouette of humans as the undead.

“We need to find shelter for the night.” Val’s words bring me out of my mile long stare down with the emergency exit of the hospital.

“You go, I’m going to stay—” I stop myself short. My own revelation from earlier flashing inside my brain like a neon sign. “Um, why don’t you lead the way?” Val tilts her head, her tongue poking at the side of her cheek. She nods. I follow. Her hand is poised and read to grab one of her katanas if she needs it. As I watch her lithe frame move through the overgrown streets, I’m struck with an emptiness. An emptiness that is absent when I am surrounded by others in the group; when there is noise to fill the void. But walking alone behind her and Marvel, seeing her look down and smile at the dog, her hand reaching out swiftly to scratch Marvel’s head…

It’s an emptiness that’s hard to miss.

I shake the feeling off the best I can. My attention needs to be elsewhere. Like on the dark alleyways and abandoned side streets. Though, I guess most places are abandoned now-a-days. Except the occasional gang of bandits. Or hoards. Or militant soldiers taking civilians and releasing the undead. So, okay, maybe not everywhere is abandoned.

Which is exactly why I need to stay vigilant.

And it’s a good thing I do because I noticed something ahead of us that I don’t think Valentina does. The hair on Marvel’s back sticks up, her teeth are bared, and she begins to slowly back up. Valentina notices her retreat and turns around, brows furrowed.

“Mar—” I don’t give her the chance to make any further noises. My hand flies over her mouth, my other wrapping around her waist. I do my best to drag her into a small building to our left without making any sound. The brick walls are crumbling, the windows shattered long ago. But there are still tables to hide behind and doors to leave from. Valentina wrestles herself out of my grasp. A wild look crosses her eyes. “What the fuck, Juliana?” She hisses a little too loud. I go to put my hand over her mouth again and she bats it away.

“Lower your voice then, there’s more soldiers up ahead,” I whisper, eyes darting around in the dark to catch a glimpse of the soldiers. “I know we’re going through some shit right now, but I need you to trust me.”

“I do,” she answers, “I never stopped.”

Oh.

“But that doesn’t give you a pass to run off and act like a hero.”

Oh…

“I wasn’t going—We’re in this together,” I whisper turning my eyes to look at Val only to see she’s already watching me. There’s a loud boom that echoes through the empty street outside. Followed by another boom. And another. It doesn’t take either of us long to realize what’s coming through the town.

“A goliath,” we say together. That is definitely not what I saw up ahead. Though the Goliath coming toward us could easily be connected to the soldiers nearby.

Valentina is tugging Marvel back by her collar as we dash to the back of the store. Out of sight is good. Out of earshot is better. Except there’s no way to tell if the Goliath can hear us or not. Well, actually, there is one way. And that’s if the Goliath comes smashing through the wall. The last time that happened near us, I went flying through a window. Not again.

Valentina is beside me holding onto Marvel’s collar in case she decides to run off. Val is staring out the front of the store waiting to catch a glimpse of the beast. Neither notice as I start to tip toe through what appears to be an old coffee shop now that I look closer. The machines behind the bar are rusted, dust covered messes. Old cups litter the floor, paper tumbles with any slight breeze we produce. And at the back of the store, away from the bar that Marvel and Val duck behind, is a tiny staircase leading up. Some of the wood is broken, splintered, and missing in entirety, but there’s just enough to make it to the next floor. Hopefully without a sound.

Val finally notices my absence and spins around hurriedly. Her eyes dart around looking for me, panic evident on her face and in her rushed movements. The moment she sees me it’s clear; whatever storm of thoughts that were brewing in her head dissipated. Relief.

I gesture for her to come over, pointing up the stairs for good measure. The three of us step lightly up the stairs to the next floor, being sure to step on the outermost sides of the steps to avoid creaks. Don’t need to alert the Goliath to our position. Or any others for that matter.

If you thought the first floor was a wreck, the second floor isn’t much better. Far worse for wear, actually. Considering the roof is half missing leaving us exposed to the bitter winter air. Wood planks cross over small alleyway gap between the buildings. I check behind me to see that Valentina is still with me. She peers hesitantly at the wooden planks and back at me. There’s a look that passes between us and I can’t tell if she’s going to trust me on this. Because it’s not just the Goliath we have to worry about. It’s not the undead or the ghost we’ve left behind or the space that’s come between us. It’s the dozen foot soldiers that march through the town with Pyros attached to chains and fire chasing their feet.

“Please,” I whisper, nodding in the direction of the plank. She trusts me, I know she does. She said it herself, but that still doesn’t mean she wants to risk it all on a wobbly piece of wood. But, then again, we could still die if we don’t move. “Val…” She isn’t budging. Marvel is pawing the air as the Goliath continues its slow stomping down the street. Feet thudding rhythmically further up the street. And I know if we don’t move now we’re not going to make it back to our group.

I move toward her, reaching out slowly until her hands are in mine. Val’s hands are shaking, eyes not focusing on me even when I come into her view. This isn’t like her. In the time I’ve known her, traveled with her, fought beside her….she’s never frozen like that. She’s made tough decisions, done things I doubt any part of her ever wanted to. So why is there this immobilizing fear capturing her right now over a five-step walk across a piece of wood?

“Just take my hand, we’ll do it together.” I tug her towards the plank. Marvel trots over the board with ease, looking back at us before checking out the movement below us. Val is harder to convince, but she does hold my hand tightly as we take our turn. I make her go first, one hand in hers, the other on her hip guiding her across. She’s close enough to hop off and I let her, but the board becomes unstable from the quick movement. It shakes; I feel it bowing beneath my feet. Val looks like she’s ready to yell. Reach for me. Do something drastic and I don’t give her the chance. Without hesitation, I jump landing on the spot next to her without a sound. Her eyes are glued to the board as it wobbles and then stills again.

“You could’ve…”

“Technically, we both could’ve,” I point out. “We didn’t have a choice, Vale. Come on, we gotta keep moving.” Valentina nods mutley and we walk together towards the other side of the building, hoping to find a staircase or some other kind of escape.

“Peaches, I don’t think that’s a good idea, we might risk the Goliath hearing us.”

“I know, I know,” I say stopping in my tracks near the staircase. “You’re right. But there is a group of soldiers up ahead and I saw two of them split off from the group. I think...they might be able to offer some information.”

She yanks her hand out from mine. “You want to interrogate the people who are letting the Rotters loose? Wow, you really do have a death wish.”

“No.” I state firmly. “I wanted to eavesdrop on them without putting either of us in danger. But, I mean, since you clearly think so _highly_ of me, why don’t I just storm in there.”

“Juls, that’s not—” Valentina starts to say but I wave her off.

“Don’t worry about it.” I turn away and move down the staircase. “We should be able to see the soldiers from the next floor. It might be best not to talk starting now.” I don’t wait for her answer, I continue to descend the stairs until I come to the next floor, finding us a good hiding spot behind several rusted metal desks. Val and Marvel join me a moment later. I try not to let her words get to me, or the fact that she immediately jumped to conclusions. Kind of deserve it. Doesn’t take the string away though.

Turning my focus away from the never ending cycle of over analyzing my ex-girlfriends comments, I look down at the courtyard beneath us. Two soldiers in ratty old black uniforms stand side-by-side, assault rifles in their hands, and smiles that are too out of place. Peering at them from the cracks between the desks, they disappear in and out of my line of sight as they pace the courtyard. Their voices soft, cracking every now and again between sentences. They’re younger than I thought...younger than they look.

Val and I exchange glances. Too young to be soldiers.

Another set of footsteps join echo through the courtyard. A deeper voice, older for sure causes the young soldiers to be quiet. The more the new person talks, the more familiar they sound. I can’t place it.

“Boys, is the area clear?” The voice asks, their appearance obscured by the pillar in the courtyard.

“Yes, sir,” the first soldier says.

“The Goliath walked off with ease, no casualties,” the second soldier adds.

“Good, nice work.” The three soldiers below shift and the new person comes into view. The once kind eyes that looked after my mother and I stare coldly off into the distance. I can’t help the barely audible gasp that slips from my lips. Valentina’s eyes widen, panic evident as she glances between our hiding spot and the men. None of them seem to notice. “The truck will be here to pick you up in ten. Don’t miss it.”

With that, Panchito walks out of the courtyard and my mind is left reeling.

“That dude is too fucking nice for this shit,” the first soldier says with a shake of his head.

“I heard that he’s here against his will,” the other soldier shifts his rifle.

“We’re all here for our own reasons.”

“Nah, man, like the boss has something on him, you know?” The first soldier looks at him in disbelief.

“Come on, that’s bullshit,” the first soldier laughs. “You need to stop listening to the garbage the men at camp spout.”

“Whatever, all I’m saying is that we enjoy letting these rotten fucks out to get rid of the weak. Panchito doesn’t.”

“I dunno, he seems to enjoy luring those dumb civilians into our hands for turning.” They both laugh. My skin crawls.

“Let’s go, the truck’s gonna be here soon,” the second soldier says. The two take another look around swiftly before heading out of the building. Valentina and I remain silent, holding onto Marvel until we hear the rumble of a truck come and go. A few more minutes pass before we let ourselves breathe again. My hands shake at the new revelation.

Val lets Marvel go and she starts to sniff out the area leaving the two of us alone for a moment. She regards me carefully, I can see the gears in her head turning. And then it clicks.

“Wait, Juli, was that the same Panchito that trained you and your mom?”

“Yup.”

“And now he’s helping kidnap people and turning them into Rotters?”

“So it seems.”

***

It took us some time to find a place to rest. By the time we found a place, the sun was rising again and I was half asleep. We did a quick check, but Marvel came back without a signal warning sign. Both Val and I considered it good enough. At least we would get a few hours of sleep uninterrupted. She took the far back corner of the second floor of the store. I took the opposite corner to her.

I didn’t sleep for long. We are alone together for the first time in a long time. Truly alone. Just us and our dog. No prying friends or murderous bandits or fleshy hungry undead. I should feel relieved that we can even work together like this anymore. But I mostly just feel my hands shaking and my heart hammering and the undeniable squeezing in my lungs whenever I look at her.

Is it creepy to watch her sleep? Probably, but she looks so peaceful. She isn’t thinking about the end of the world or the end of us. She’s just dreaming in some fantasy world, and maybe in that world I made her happy. In that world, I might have been better to her. Loved her better.

Obviously I still love her. The only issue is that instead of consuming thoughts about that love, I have consuming thoughts about fixing this...us. Yeah, she said she trusts me. Took me on this side quest. Teased me. But that doesn’t make things good between us. There’s still so much left unsaid. I want to prove to her that I am capable of change. That I can be the person that best for myself and for her.

God, I remember all those stupid pieces of advice people always used to give. That I can’t love someone else if I can’t love myself. That I shouldn’t change for someone else. It’s a bunch of shit if you ask me. Loving Valentina taught me how to love myself. Losing Valentina taught me that I can’t hold onto the old broken pieces of myself from before. I need to change for her, but I need to change for myself too. She makes me want to be better and it took losing her to realize that. I can’t take on the world by myself, and I can’t protect her from everything. If I expect her to trust me, I need to trust her, too.

“I can’t sleep if you’re staring at me,” Val says sleep evident in her voice.

“Sorry,” I mutter tearing my eyes away from her.

“Has anyone told you that you think loudly?”

“I’m pretty sure you have,” I say keeping my eyes focused on the dust floating through the air. She moves in her spot, body sliding with a swish against the makeshift bed.

“Can I ask?”

“You just did,” I point out.

“Smartass,” she sighs. It’s lighthearted; soft. She tries again. “What are you thinking about?”

"Me,” I say honestly. “And you. Us.”

“What about us?” Va asks, and I know she isn’t going to give in any time soon. I wouldn’t either. This is the first time we can talk without anyone else around. Just us. Exactly how this conversation should be.

“I didn’t get it at first,” I say. “Why you wanted to break up...why you needed space for a while. I kept thinking “she doesn’t love me, she hates me” and maybe you did for a little while. I don’t think I could fault you if you did. Everything I did, I thought I was doing it with your best interest in mind, and that was wrong. I’m sorry for that, Valentina.” I risk a glance in her direction to find her looking back at me. The fissures in my heart crack a little bit more when our eyes meet.

“You kept leaving, you were always so ready to leave me. I love you, but I don’t think I could have watched you walk away again because you may never come back,” Valentina admits. “I—You almost didn’t come back. And that’s what I hated you for.”

“I just wanted to keep you safe, but I realize now that I was making it harder for you to keep yourself safe. I always expect you to trust me completely when I’m making stupid life risking decisions, but I don’t give you that same level of trust. I’ve seen you fight. Hell, you’re a better fighter than I am, and I need to trust you on that.” Marvel trots over from her spot by the stairs and lays between the two of us.

“It’s not just that,” Val says. “I love you too much to sit by and watch as you try to get yourself killed.”

“I’m not trying to get myself killed...it just looks like that.” She raises an eyebrow. “My intention isn’t to _die_, it’s to make sure you don’t.”

“Listen, I’m not asking you to stop fighting and having badass plans that generally save our asses. I’d just like to be included.” Valentina stands from her spot across the room and comes over to me. She takes a seat beside me, taking my hand in hers. “I don’t want you to change who you are. You’re a fighter, you’ve fought your whole life. But you’ve fought alone. I get that it’s hard to change your thinking from being alone to being in a group; to making decisions with someone else. I’m here, Juliana. I’m here and you’re stuck with me.”

“I promise, I’m trying,” I whisper holding tightly to her hand. “I’m trying to show you I can be better. For both of us.”

“I know, Peaches.” She smiles my favorite smile; eyes crinkling, nose scrunching. “Come on, we can get a couple more hours of sleep before finding the others.” Val made it seem so easy, the switch between the limbo we were in to this. She pulls me down to lay beside her, wraps an arm around my waist and tucks herself into my side. Is it really this easy?

“So...are we okay?” I pull my head back to look at her. She turns her face up to gaze back at me, a tired twinkle in her eye.

“We will be.”

It sounds like a promise. She seals it with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/188110823278/something-wicked-by-zags96-chapter-ten-update)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	12. Part III: Chapter Eleven

** **

**December 16, 2026, 10:47AM**

“They’re turning people into Rotters. On purpose,” Lexa says through the radio. Val and I finally radioed them once we woke up. We slept much longer than we intended to, but after over a month without this kind of contact with her, I was soaking it all in.

“Yes.” Val says. “And Juls’ old mentor is helping them.” My heart sinks at the reminder of Panchito’s hand in this whole pandemic. He may have been strict, but I never thought him to be cold. Not like this. Never like this.

“He’s more deadly than he looks,” I add. “They’re operating out of the Hospital west of where we split up.”

“Shit,” Lexa says. “We’re not too far from your location then. We’ll be on the lookout for them. Just meet us at the cell tower north east of your position. You should be able to see it; it’s on top of a hill.” Sure enough, Lexa is right. After spinning in a few useless circles on the roof of the building we’re in, both Val and I see the tower she’s talking about. It’s a far run from where we are now but it’s doable.

Val and I gather our supplies up and hit the road. If we want to make it there in good time, we need to get a move on. Marvel does her usual trotting ahead of us scouting out the area. It’s nice to have her on my side again, so to speak. Traveling without her when I was with Lizzie and Hope was a nightmare. I had come to rely on Marvel too much for my safety. It’s nice to know that Val had that extra layer of protection while I was off doing that hero schtick.

Our hands brush together as we walk. Her fingers dance near mine. There's hesitance. I don’t know whether to make it easy for her and offering my hand to her or let her decide. We’re in this new grey area where we’re okay but we’re not okay at the same time. We’re Valentina _and_ Juliana, but we’re not Valentina and Juliana. We aren’t an us, but we’re a we. Does that even make sense? It’s like we’re toeing the line between girlfriends and lovers. I can’t tell what’s worse honestly. Knowing where we stood when we broke up or not knowing where we stand now that we’re kind of together.

She finally grabs my hand. Sweaty, shaky, strong. I squeeze her hand and we continue to walk. Marvel still happily sniffing every plant and glancing back once in a while.

“You okay?” Val asks looking around the area. We’re traveling through a park in the middle of town trying to find the highway. We can still see the cell tower in the distance atop the hill. But it might be easier to just have a straight shot towards it.

I shrug in response.

“I know Panchito meant a lot to you.” She turns her attention to me. “It’s okay to be hurt.”

“He was my mentor, that’s all.”

“Don’t lie, Juli. I can see right through it.”

“What do you want me to say?” I say ignoring her piercing gaze. “That he was a father to me? That he saved my life and taught me how to stay alive. He kept me fed, and safe, and now he’s the reason all these people are dying.”

“At least that was honest,” Val grips my hand a little tighter. “The other soldiers, one of them said they think he’s being blackmailed to be there.”

“Maybe,” I sigh. “I don’t know,. What could be held against him to get him to do such horrible fucking things to people?”

“Money, power, love.” Valentina shrugs this time.

“I don’t see those being good enough reasons,” I say. She pulls her hand from mine, crossing her arms.

“You’re saying you wouldn’t do exactly what he’s doing if someone had me and used your love for me as leverage?”

“He doesn’t have anybody, Valentina. He had a wife and a son—” I stop short. “But they died…not long after my mom left. Panchito was destroyed. That—that was years ago, how could he go from helping me to leading an army a year later?”

“Things move fast in this world, and I’m not just talking about those rotten fucks.” Valentina turns to me. “You didn’t answer the question though.”

“I’ve already had someone take you from me, Vale. You know exactly what I would do if someone did that again.” A chill runs through my body as the screams fill my head again. “I’d kill every last one of them.”

***

A helpful hint for anyone thinking of trying their hand at surviving in the apocalypse: don’t make out with your not-girlfriend-girlfriend in an alley.

Honestly, seems like life has come full circle for us right now. Trapped in an alley with Valentina is exactly how we met. Except this time I have her pinned against a brick wall when a Rotter tries to take a chunk out of my back. I’m thanking past-me for letting myself be the one of the vulnerable side of this intimate moment because Val would surely be dead.

Which is why you shouldn’t do stupid shit like this when your life is on the line. But what was I supposed to do when she’s being all cute and flirty one moment and then a badass with a katana next? Let her walk away? No, I’m gonna fucking kiss her. I’m only human after all.

“Fuck, fuck,” I yell reaching for my machete, but Val’s already in motion. She whips out a butterfly knife and jabs the Rotter right through the temple. A brain shishkabob. It’s teeth release my back and the Rotter falls to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Remind me again why I let you seduce me into this alley…” Val wipes the blade off on her shirt and pushing off the wall. I step back off balance.

“If I recall correctly, you were getting handsy.” Shrugging, I step out of the alley and toss my hands up only to feel a hard body slam back against me. At first, my mind rushes to say it’s Valentina messing around. But it’s too rough, too big, and my face is pressed against exposed brick in a way that is so not erotic.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” The man’s calloused hands push my face harder against the brick.

Suffice to say, it’s definitely not Valentina.

“Where am I supposed to be, then?” I attempt to wriggle free. He presses harder. Behind us I can hear a struggle and Val’s voice as she tries to fight off her own assailant. Something about the situation is familiar. I’m hoping this time I don’t have to fake my death to keep her safe.

“You’re gonna be dead in a minute if you don’t shut the fuck up,” the man growls in my ear. I turn my gaze downward, spying black boots and pants. Not too different from those the young soldiers from yesterday were wearing.

“I don’t really like to listen to authority,” I mutter. “Let alone fake authority figures on a power trip.” His arm moves away from the back of my neck. I assume he’s reaching for something, but he lightens the pressure on his hold just enough. In a blink, I switch our positions. He stumbles, throws his hands out toward me. A swing, a fist collides with my cheekbone. Another hits my eye.

I block his next punch. He reaches for his gun holstered on his hip. Val is yelling behind me. I can’t make out what she’s saying.

“When I’m done with you, I can’t wait to get my hands on your little friend.” He grins wolfishly. I see red.

Literally. I see blood as my fist connects with his face. He has no time to recover. Another fist. A kick. A flurry of assaults from me and he’s on the ground. On his knees looking up at me. Bloody. Bruised. Still he grins.

“You might have bested me, but your friend isn’t doing as well.” He laughs.

I want to look, I really do. But I know it’s a plot. He thinks he’s sly. That I don’t see his hand behind his back. That I’m not aware that he’s grabbing another weapon.

I pull my knife on him.

Val screams behind me.

“Hear that? You’re too busy debating if you should kill me that you’re not helping her.”

“She doesn’t need saving,” I growl. “You on the other hand do. Too bad your buddy is a bit busy, he won’t be able to stop me from doing this.” He moves fast drawing his gun. But I move faster.  
Before he can aim or pull the trigger, my knife is buried deep in his chest. I yank it out roughly, serrated edges snagging on flesh.

I step back and watch his body hit the ground with a wet thud. A part of me is thrilled at the sight, at the feeling. Another realizes my body count is dangerously close to my father’s...I’m dangerously close to becoming him.

“Peaches?” Val says softly coming up behind me. I spin, knife still in my hand. Heart racing. Jaw clenched. Am I shaking or is it another Goliath thundering through town?

Valentina gently places her hand over mine and lowers my arm. The knife clatters to the ground.

“I—where’s the other one?”

“Knocked out and tied up in the alley.” She pulls me closer to her.

“Oh…” I gulp. “I—I didn’t mean to...didn’t mean to kill him. He was just...Vale, I can’t—”

“Shh,” she wipes a tear off my face. “You didn’t have a choice. He would have killed you first.”

“I could have—could have knocked him out. Disarmed him. I didn’t…” Her arms wrap around me. “Enough people have died because of me.”

“And they all deserved it.”

“Who are we to determine who lives and dies?” I ask looking back up at her as I pull away from the embrace. “Doesn’t that make us no better than them?”

“I don’t know, Juli,” Valentina sighs. “Maybe in a pre-apocalyptic world it would be more simple, but we do what we need to survive.”

“I take lives without a thought,” I say. “It’s like this—this darkness overcomes me. Like a rage that just builds and builds and anyone in my line of sight is a target. I have killed so many people. Alacran was right...I’m no different than my dad.” I glance back at the unknown, unnamed soldier lying dead in a pool of his blood. He could have a family, or a friend, or someone hoping he was going to come home tonight. That he was doing others bidding just to keep them safe. And I killed him. I killed him and took their chance at a decent life away.

“Juliana,” Val says. “Juliana, look at me.”

“I’m a murderer, Valentina.”

“If the court system was still in place, they’d see this as an act of self-defense.”

“Well the courts don’t exist anymore! I have so much blood on my hands...I can never unsee it.” My voices falls quieter. “I can never forget it.” My eyes are glued to my hands now; each life I took came to an end at these hands.

“You are not a monster. You’re not a murderer.” Val reaches out and grabs my chin softly making me look at her. Calm oceans meet quaking earth. “You are a result of years of trauma and having to fight to stay alive. Your dad had a choice; you didn’t. _You are not your father_.”

***

After our run in with the soldiers, we don’t get any luckier. Hoard after hoard comes out of nowhere. We’re blindsided again and again. As much as I worry about Valentina, as much as my bones are screaming for me to fight them off on my own, I let her fight her own battles. I’m reminded again how graceful she is. Long limbs, her katana’s just an extension of herself. Somehow she makes hacking a dead guy’s head off look beautiful.

It’s unfair. Especially for my heart.

There’s finally a moment of reprieve as we near the cell tower. The frame is getting larger and larger as we approach. Buildings behind us disappearing into little specks as we climb the hill. Marvel trots happily through the long grass, sniffing the plants, and checking behind herself every few moments: Val and I are always still there.

Valentina is looking around the base of the cell tower with Marvel. I stay near the crest of the hill, it gives me the best view of the town below us. We’re not sure where the others are coming from exactly. Other than the backroad and alley way that Val and I took to get up here, there’s only one other direct route to the tower; a bridge that appears to be the only sturdy piece of construction left in this town. I can clearly make out the broken down cars and occasional Rotter stumbling across the bridge. If they were coming that way, I could easily see them.

Despite that, I have a sinking feeling in my gut. They weren’t too far from our previous location. What could be taking them so long?

“All clear,” Val says as her and Marvel appear beside me. “What’re you thinking?”

“Something’s wrong…” I keep my eyes trained on the horizon searching for any sign of our friends.

“I’m sure they ran into some Rotters on the way like we did,” Val tries to reassure me. I shake my head.

“Maybe…I don’t know, I can’t put my finger on it.”

“It’s best to just wait here for them.” Valentina grabs my hand and squeezes. “Have you tried to radio them?”

“Not yet, I don’t want to get them killed. There are so many soldiers roaming around...” I finally turn to look at her. She smiles ever so slightly. “Forget it, I’m freaking out for no reason.”

“Hey, no, no. Don’t do that to yourself,” Val tugs me closer. Our bodies pressed together at the hips. She tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “You’re right to worry. After all we’ve seen and run into, it’s logical to worry. But they’re a very deadly group of women, they’ll make it here just fine.”

“You’re right,” I sigh resting my head against hers. My eyes close as I take a deep breath. “We’ll wait here.”

“If they don’t show up by the time the sun starts to set, we’ll go look for them. And shelter.” I nod and let myself be led to a soft patch of grass that Marvel has made her bed. Valentina encircles me in her arms; my back presses to her front. It’s soft. Safe. For a minute, my worries about my friends fade away.

Then there’s a crackle from my radio.

“Juliana, Valentina, come in. Now!” Lexa’s voice burst through the speaker. I fumble out of Val’s arms and to the radio that attached to my bag near our feet.

“Lexa, what’s going on? Where are you guys?” I say. My heart beating rapidly, violently, against my chest.

“We’re close, we’re about to cross a bridge.” Immediately, Val and I are up on our feet and running to get a better view of the bridge.

“There,” Val points at the small figures racing across the bridge. But that’s not the concerning part. The concerning part is the echo of gun shots that reach our ears. Bursts of light from the firefight dance across my vision as I watch my friends run for their lives.

“Who the fuck is shooting at you?” I demand through the radio.

“Soldiers. Assuming—fuck,” gun shots ring through the radio. “I’m assuming they’re the ones you were talking about.”

“We’re coming. We’ll meet you down there—” I start to say.

“No! You need to stay where it’s safe!” Lexa yells. “Clarke watch out! Shit. Shit.”

Valentina snatches the radio from my hand. “We’re going to get a truck and we’re going to meet you at the end of the bridge. No discussion! You’re our family, and we’re not leaving you behind to die.”

Silence follows Valentina’s words. We both watch the bridge anxiously. “Hurry,” Lexa says.

We jump into fight mode. There’s no stopping to talk, strategize, confure. It’s now or never. I sling my bag over my shoulder, holster my machete, and bring out the guns I have. Valentina does the same, except she detaches a shotgun from her bag and loads it.

“Ready?” She asks, a wicked grin on her face. I nod.

Neither of us are ready for what comes next. A loud boom that shakes the earth under our feet. Our eyes widen and meet before looking back at the bridge. Fire. Smoke billowing into the air. The unmistakable screech of the Rotters. The thundering of a hoard racing toward the noise. The noise that is coming from where our friends are...

Our feet carry us down the hill, we don’t stop to think anymore. Not even when the bridge starts to collapse into the water below potentially taking our friends with it. All I can focus on is finding a vehicle and finding them.

Or what’s left of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry in advanced for what happens in the next chapter...
> 
> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/188264915098/something-wicked-by-zags96-chapter-eleven)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 


	13. Part III: Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big fight on the bridge. We lose some people in the fight. Juliana and Valentina have another long talk where they finally find some common ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...some characters die. some get taken. some other badly injured. But our girls are thriving, so that's all that really matters...right? 
> 
> Also check out the note at the end for info about my updating schedule!!

** **

**December 16, 2026, 4:23PM**

Our feet carry us fast and hard. I stumble. Fall. Get back up again and keep running. Rotters are rushing up from behind us, racing toward the noise. There’s a several cars. Each turning up empty. Wheels missing. Tanks empty. Engines not turning over when Val tries to hotwire them. We’re coming up empty again and again.

Marvel does her best to keep the Rotters away but it’s hard with just the two of us.

“It’d be faster if we just ran!” I yell over the roars of the Rotters. Val is rushing between cars trying to get one to simply start. It’s even less probable to work with the drastic drops in temperature lately. These hunks of metal haven’t been run in years most likely. The longer they sit here through the winters...I don’t know if we’ll ever find one that—

An engine roars to life behind me.

I stab a Rotter in the temple and push the others back not caring for the scratches or bite that could come from hand to hand. Marvel yanks a Rotter away from me, tearing its head off. She’s growling like crazy. Blood covering her snout.

“We need gas!” Valentina yells.

“There’s a tube in my bag! Hold on!” I try to take out as many Rotters as I can. But they’re coming in droves. Each time I think they are dwindling more appear. Fuck. At this point I can’t risk holding them back. Time is running out. We need to get to our friends. Now. “Val get in the fucking truck.”

“Jul—”

“Don’t fight me on this, please!” I turn my back on the Rotters and rush to the truck Val is standing next to with a gas canister in her hand. She’s ready to argue. “Now is not the time for this, Val. Get in the truck. And trust me on this.”

“Fine, but I’m covering you through the window.” She climbs into the front seat. Shuts the door and pops her shotgun out the window as I wrestle with my bag.

“Where is it, where is it, where is it,” I mumble digging through the bag. Water. Pills. Bandages. Ammo. Ammo. Am—yes!

Shots fire behind me.

Marvel growls. A head rolls up beside me.

Bodies thump to the ground.

Click. Reload. Shot. Thump.

I rush to the car next to us. And honestly I have no idea how the fuck to do this. All I remember is what I had seen in movies long before things went to shit. Gonna wing it.

One end of the hose in the tank, the other end into my mouth. Hand poised on the tube to cut the flow of the gas. And I suck.

Shot fired. Groans near me. Claws to my back. A body hits the ground. I see a flash of blood soaked fur. I taste gasoline. Clenching the tube I push the other end of those into the canister, and the gas is flowing quickly. I fill it as much as I can before I rush back to the truck. Pour the gas in. Smack the tank lid closed and throw Marvel into the truck bed before climbing in myself.

“Drive!” I shout to Val. She tosses her shotgun to the side and hits the pedal. Marvel and I fall from the sudden jerk of motion as the truck takes off. I don’t bother to right myself, instead I stay hidden against the snow dusted truck bed. Marvel’s teeth are still barred as the sound of the Rotters echoes through the town as we barrel toward our friends.

The fire fight grows louder the closer we get. Valentina is weaving the truck through the area the best she can. Which means hitting every curb and running over all the Rotters she can. It’s a bumpy ride.

“Hold on, Juliana!” Valentina shouts right before we hit a curb and flying up a hill. I grab onto Marvel as we both fly up and smash back down. The truck bounces and the tires twist as we land on an adjacent street. I’m too afraid to look at our surroundings right now. Too scared that I’m going to see more carnage than I’m prepared for when we reach the bridge. Who knows if they’re alive?  
The gunshots sound like they’re right next to us. And by the halting of the truck, they might actually be. Marvel is scratching at the plastic lining of the truck bed. She whimpers, then growls, and before I can grab her she leaps out of the truck bed.

“Marvel!” I yell and trip out of the truck bed to catch her. What I find when my feet hit the ground is worse than I imagined.

Marvel is tackling a Screecher that was about to attack Hope who’s back was to the screaming fuck. Hope and Penelope are closest to the edge of the bridge, both covered in soot and blood. Parts of their clothes singed and torn. I’m praying that they weren’t bitten or scratched. But there isn’t time to ponder that. Not when there are packs of Screechers hollering from the bridge. Or the Pyros that are off in the distance, flames igniting the gasoline from cars causing more explosions. A new type—a Thrasher if you will— had Lizzie in its grasp a few paces from the edge of the bridge, thrashing her about like a ragdoll. Heads roll on the ground. Limbs scattered about. And I can’t tell if they’re human or undead. That unnerves me.

Hope has a shovel in her hand, thwacking each undead that comes her way. Penelope stands by her, a hatchet in her hand. Marvel helps out where she can before taking off toward Lizzie, Josie, and Thrasher.

“You guys okay?” I yell as I start to sprint passed them, Val right beside me.

“We’ve got it under control!” Hope says swinging at another Rotter.

“Help the others!” Penelope adds when her blade comes into contact with the Screecher beside her. Blood and undead goop splatters her face. Val and I rush off after Marvel. She attaches herself to the Thrasher’s arm, sinking her teeth in. Josie is quick to come up behind the Thrasher and swing her axe at it. But it’s not enough. The grip the Thrasher has on Lizzie is too tight. She’s paling quickly.

Val loads her shotgun back up and fires at the Thrasher’s head.

One shot. Two shots.

I follow her lead. Both of us emptying round after round as quickly as we can. Marvel does her best to bite and yank and distract the Thrasher while Josie continues her assault on the arm holding Lizzie.

Suddenly the Thrasher goes limp. Hand unfurling to release Lizzie who looks worse for wear. Josie runs over and helps her sister up. She loops her arm around her back and tries to shuffle away but the Rotters are coming towards us fast. Val and I turn our guns on them next.

“Josie, get her out of here!” I shout at them aiming at the heads of each Rotter that comes into my sight.

“There’s too many of them,” Josie replies leaning her sister against a car and picks her axe back up and takes down the Rotters she can. But it’s not enough. I toss her one of my pistols.

“Marvel, follow Josie,” I command. Marvel glances between me and the Rotters toward the middle of the bridge. I look to Josie.

“Marvel, come!” She yells as she grabs her sister again. Marvel follows diligently. The three disappear just as another explosion sounds toward the middle of the bridge.

“Peaches, we shouldn’t keep going. It’s not safe,” Val says shooting another Rotter. We both duck behind a car.

“We need to find the others. I’m not leaving without them.”

“Okay, but if it’s too dangerous—”

“Those four women have done a lot to keep you and me safe. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure the same,” I snap. “Follow me or don’t.” I don’t give her a chance to respond. I can’t. Because somewhere out there in the midst of this hoard and the soldiers on the other side of the bridge are our friends. Our family. The people who have supported us, protected us, shared their resources with us. This isn’t about being a hero. This is about loyalty. Love.

So I run. I turn off the part of my brain that’s telling me to protect others and myself. We are all capable. We are weapons.

I dodge the Rotters that I can. Climb the cars to get out of their way. Metal creaks beneath my feet. Winter wind pushes the smoke and snow around; a vortex of cold and destruction. But I can’t see Waverly, Nicole, Clarke, or Lexa. They’re still missing and we’re getting closer to the soldiers. Val was right. It’s getting too dangerous. But I can’t give up. Right?

“Together,” Val says as she climbs up on the car next to me. We look ahead at the Rotters that are spread out across the remainder of the bridge.

“Together.”

We give up the guns in favor of our blades. It’s like old times. She wields her katanas with grace. I wield my machete with less grace and more brute force. It’s a flurry of attacks as we fight our way through the hoard. There’s arms flying through the air. Teeth snapping at us. Yells are filling the air and I can’t tell whose they are. Any kind of communication we could have is drowned out by the screeches of the undead.

A Rotter comes rushing at Val while she’s busy with another one. I don’t even think when I dive in front of the rotten shit. There was no time to swing my machete or push it back. If I had waited a single second Val would be Rotter food and I’d be—well, I don’t want to think about what comes next. All I know is the Rotter’s teeth sink into my arm.

“Fuck, again?” Valentina yells when she turns around. Her hand quick to switch her katana for a switch blade and stab the Rotter in the head. It’s jaw goes limp releasing me and falls to the ground. “You’re really—”

“—testing my luck. I know.” I sigh. She gives me a sharp look before we continue our onslaught. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. There’s so many Rotters. So many undead fucks rushing us. Attacking us. Screaming in the distance. I don’t think it’s going to let up soon.

I was so focused on the hoard that I forgot there were actual people trying to fucking kill us too. It’s brought back to my attention when a bullet ricochets off the metal frame of the bridge and grazes Val’s leg. She hisses in pain, stumble a little.

“Love, are you okay?” I pull her down behind another car. The soldiers must be closer because a rain of bullets starts to fall upon us.

“I know you want to save them, but at what cost, Juliana? You can’t save everyone.”

“I have to try…” Bullets plink against the metal of the cars and bridge. A loud roar fills the air. We both shiver.

“And you have, baby. No one is going to blame you for this.” Her eyes pierce mine. Soft. Pleading. Begging me to cave, to go back with her. To hide and runaway and leave our friends to the hands of those who are causing all this turmoil to begin with.

And I can’t do that. “I’m sorry.”

I stand up from our spot and turn to run into the masses of undead when I see it. When I see them…

Clarke and Lexa are being dragged away from the bridge. Both are still fighting. Kicking and screaming. Waverly and Nicole are still fighting a couple soldiers closer to me. I want to rush to them. Help them. But before my feet can even move an explosion destroys the bridge between us. Bits of the bridge collapse into the icy water below it taking Waverly and Nicole with it.

“No!” I scream. “No, no, no…” Rage builds inside me. My eyes flicker across the bridge trying to find anyway to get to Clarke and Lexa. Anyway to fucking kill those soldiers who killed my friends. There’s a beam stretching across the gaping hole in the bridge and I’m about to use it. To race across guns blazing. But a hand grabs my arm and pulls me back.

Hope regards me sternly but softly. “You will die trying to save them and it will be in vain. I promise we will find them, but we need to go now.”

“I can’t lose them. I’ve lost enough…” Pain rips through me.

“We all have, don’t make us lose you too.” Behind her Marvel helps lead Valentina away taking down Rotters where Valentina cannot.

“Okay.” And I let Hope lead me away. We catch up quickly to Val and Marvel. The four of us dodge as many Rotters as we can, too exhausted and hurt to deal with it otherwise. Penelope is in the driver’s seat, Josie leaning against her, and Lizzie slouched against the passenger side window. Hope, Valentina, Marvel, and I hop into the truck bed and smack the metal siding.

“Go.” And we take off again, leaving behind the smoking and crumbling bridge. As we disappear down the road I see the soldiers truck pull away on the other side of the river. A weight settles itself at the bottom of my stomach. But there’s nothing I can do but hold tight to the people next to me right now and endure.

***

Somewhere two towns over we find a gas station. By some miracle we were able to get gas out of the pumps and food from the convenience store. We saw it as a good omen. Valentina and I hid the truck in the brush behind the building. Neither of us have spoken since I left her on the bridge. I don’t know what to say and I don’t know how many times I can apologize before it’s meaningless.

We step through the doorway into the convenience store and find Josie and Lizzie both laid out on the floor. Penelope and Hope hover over them, both in tears. Their girlfriends covered in blood and cuts. Lizzie’s arm bent in an odd direction. Josie has several bite marks over the exposed skin I can see. I’m worried that there are more hidden beneath their clothes.

“What are we going to do?” Hope says looking up at me and Valentina. I’m at a loss for words. I put my bag on the ground and start to dig through it for medical supplies I know I have. It may not be enough.

Penelope is holding tight to Josie’s hand. Tears in her eyes.

“I’m not sure there’s much we can do patch them up the best we can,” I say taking out bandages and rubbing alcohol. “And then we wait.”

“That Thrasher took a toll on Lizzie,” Hope says gazing at her girlfriend. She eyes Josie’s bites and Pen catches her.

“If Lizzie is immune don’t you think…” Pen looks at me hopefully.

“I don’t know,” I say looking to Val. She shrugs, too.

“They’re twins for fucks sake!” Penelope’s voice raises. Valentina crouched beside her, holding onto Pen as she holds onto Josie.

“Pen, they’re not identical…” Hope reminds her friend.

“I can’t lose her,” Pen whispers, tears falling on her and Josie’s intertwined hands. I work quickly on cleaning and bandaging the wounds I can find. It takes a while. That hoard did a number on us. Pen and Hope came out without much damage, but they were farthest from the worst of it.

I finish up with the twins and move to Valentina’s wound from the bullet. Hope and Pen stay with their girlfriends silently hoping they’ll wake up soon.

Quietly, I clean and bandage Val’s wound. It’s nothing major. Nothing to worry about. But it’s best to keep it guarded from infection. She doesn’t talk to me. Won’t even look at me. And the image of her hurt and bleeding on the bridge while I ran off flashes through my mind.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I finish wrapping her leg.

“So you say,” Valentina sighs. “I’m getting really tired of hearing that. Stupid me for thinking you were actually going to stop the heroics.”

“If you thought I was going to let those assholes take our friends without a fight you clearly don’t know me at all,” I shake my head and back off. I lean back and sit on the heels of my feet. “I love you, Val. More than anything. But I can’t be the version of me that you’re asking for.”

Her eyes drift up toward the ceiling, tongue poking at her cheek while she thinks. When her eyes meet mine, they’re glistening. “When I met you, you were this stubborn jackass heart set on not helping anyone but yourself. Back then, you didn’t want to change either, yet here you are. Risking everything for the people you love.”

“You were the one that told me that caring for people separates us from the undead.”

“And it does, but sometimes you take it too far.” Valentina reaches for me. “You give and give to everyone around you. You’re willing to give your life for theirs. And—I don’t know how many times I can say this, I’m starting to sound like a broken record—but you need to care for yourself just as fiercely as you care for others.”

“I—I do care about myself,” I say.

Neither of us believe me.

“Do you remember when Alacran took me?” His name is a whisper. My blood boils at the sound of it. “That feeling of not knowing if I was dead or alive?”

I don’t want to think about it. Don’t want to relive that pain I felt for the days I spent searching for Valentina. “Yes, I—it was excruciating.”  
“That’s how I feel everytime you go on your heroics bullshit.” My hands are wrapped tightly in hers. “I’m left in the dark wondering where you are, if you’re okay or if you’re dead because you went on another suicide mission…Do you worry about that with me?”

“I worry if you’re okay…”

“But you know I’m a capable fighter, that I make calculated risks, that I don’t put my life on the line if I don’t need to…” A twitch of a smile appears on her face. “You don’t worry if I’m taking care of myself because you know I am. I don’t have that luxury with you. There really aren’t any other ways to say this anymore, Juliana. You make stupid, suicidal risks when you don’t need to. You are all I have left in this world besides Marvel, but I don’t think I could handle losing you. No, I know I can’t handle it because I already thought I lost you. And I’ve lost enough people I’ve loved. Don’t make me lose you, too.”

We sit in silence. Her words rattling around inside my head. A chorus of truths that I don’t want to hear, but need to hear anyway. She’s right. Almost losing her to Alacran and his men nearly broke me. But I came up with a plan. I didn’t go rushing in like a maniac. Granted, I did naively fight Alacran in close combat, but that’s a different story.

“I hear what you’re saying,” I keep my gaze steady on Valentina. “But I need you to hear me, too.”

“If any kind of excuse comes out of your mouth—”

“There won’t be. Just listen.” She falls quiet, biting her tongue. “I didn’t have a family, not in the way that you did. There was no one watching my back, no one keeping me safe. It was just me,” Val opens her mouth. I cut her off, “and I know you know this, so don’t interrupt me. I have a point. When it was just you and I, in the beginning, I didn’t understand loyalty or trust or sacrifice. No part of me wanted to put my life on the line for someone else. My dad always put himself first, my mom did too. It’s just how I learned to exist, but it didn’t take long for me to want to risk everything for you. You made me realize I didn’t want to be another version of my parents. I want to be different from them, Vale.”

“You were never anything like them.”

I shake my head and sigh. “I see glimpses of them in me every now and again. But that’s not the point. I didn’t have a family at the start of the outbreak. My mom left me. Panchito apparently is a bad guy. I had no one. And now I do. I have you, Clarke and Lexa, the twins, and Hope, and Pen. We lost Nicole and Waverly, and my heart aches because I couldn’t do anything to save them...

“You know what it’s like to lose family,” I say softly, trying not to tear open a wound that may never fully close. Valentina casts her eyes away. “Well we have a chance to get some of our new family back, and I’m not going to stop trying. But I won’t do it without you. I can’t.”

I’m waiting for the backlash. Waiting for her to tell me that she can’t do this anymore with me again because I can’t stop risking my life. And if she says it again maybe we just don’t belong together, especially if she can’t see that this isn’t me risking my life. This is me making the most of the life I have to help others have a life, too. In this fucking shit show of a world we live in, we can either be selfish or selfess; heartless or compassionate. And you know which one I choose.

“Then we need a plan,” Valentina finally says.

My head whips up, brows furrowed, voice raising in a questionable octave, “what?”

“You’re right, this is our family and I’ll be damned if we lose them, too. But we need a plan. A solid one, with contingency plans, and contingency plans for the contingency plans.” I throw my arms around her neck, pulling her body against mine. She hugs me back. “We need to do this right, and we need to do it as safely as we can.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying….” A grin spreading across my face.

She laughs, “We’re breaking into their hide-out; we’re getting our family back.”

It’s in that warm moment wrapped in Valentina’s arms that I make a silent promise to Clarke and Lexa that I will get them out of there. And another promise to Waverly and Nicole; I will kill every last one of those soldiers.

Starting with Panchito.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to be updating next week. I have a lot on my plate right now, and I'm struggling a bit with some other personal issues. It's gotten in the way of writing, and I'm not proud of that. But I promise I will have an update on 10/31. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting and being such fucking angels. Y'all make my day everyday. 
> 
> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/188415915233/something-wicked-by-zags96-chapter-twelve)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
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> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	14. Part IV: Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welll this took way longer than I wanted it too. Life's been a mess lately. I've been wicked sick and I've had a concussion for the past week and then it was my birthday! But here's the next chapter, not sure when the next one will come out

** **

**December 28, 2026, 6:15AM **

The plan comes in three main parts and took almost two weeks to come up with. I blame the latter fact on the twins. Well, not their fault to the point in which they had any control over it. Really, what happened was that Hope and Penelope spent days agonizing over whether or not their girlfriends were going to wake up. And at what cost to the fragile humanity that hangs in the balance. Lizzie may be immune, but what damage was caused to her from the Thrasher? And Josie, sure they’re twins, but would the immunity transfer to her as well?

Our answers came five days after the day on the bridge.

Looks like immunity might run in their family. And looks like whatever damage was caused to Lizzie wasn’t going to be permanent. Her and Josie were pretty banged up; a broken arm and ankle, respectively. Neither were going to be much help until they healed. That meant Pen and Hope would also be useless to us in any physical capacity because they refused to leave their loves’ sides.

Valentina, Marvel, and I were the only ones who could go out to scavenge or check the perimeters. We didn’t leave the house we had found for those two weeks. While our friends recovered, Val and I planned. A massive three part plan that comes with several subparts. If any of the gears were out of place just a little on this...we’re fucked. Plain and simple. We’d be just as dead as the men we plan on killing.

Correction: that I plan on killing.

Valentina is more of a passive player in this game. She wants to get in and get out as quietly as we can. But, from the looks of the military’s base—the old hospital—and surrounding areas...it may not be as simple as going in stealth. I promised to try anyway.

“Part one of the plan,” Valentina says, “is to make our way back to the hospital where we witnessed the soldiers letting the Rotters out.” Penelope, Hope, and the twins look between us.

“That’s like a day and a half away,” Penelope says casting a worried glance at Josie.

“I’m fine, Pen,” Josie huffs. “Put me in a splint, fill me with those pain meds Val found, and we’re good.”

“We won’t be walking,” I say to the group, taking a swing of the canteen of water before passing it to Lizzie. “I siphoned more gas from the surrounding cars, we’ve got enough to fill the truck twice over.”

“Tell me again why we didn’t do that in the past year? We seriously walked everywhere,” Penelope groans. “My blisters had blisters.”

“Anyway,” Valentina says pointedly calling our attention back to her. Marvel stands and stretches letting out a little yowl. She curls back up next to Josie and Lizzie, both girls hands go back to slowly petting the dog. “The first part of the plan is simple. We get to the hospital, and we split into teams—”

Pen and Hope both open their mouths to speak.

“—before you say anything, yes, Pen’s with Josie, Hope’s with Lizzie. We need to be operating in strong teams,” Valentina continues. “Since you two aren’t at your prime, Hope and Pen will help you the best they can. Lizzie, Hope, you will be stationed at the bridge across from the hospital, it has clear sightlines to the emergency exit where Juliana and I will be entering and exiting from. You’re our best range shooters, so you’re in charge over covering our backs.”

The couple nods.

“Pen, Josie,” I say next, “you’ll be on the ground with us. Penelope, you’ll be driving the truck with Josie in the back. Take out any and all Rotters and soldiers that try to enter the building. Distract, divert, decapitate. We don’t need more coming into the building.”

Valentina coughs and elbows me.

“Oh, right, I guess try to not kill humans if you can.”

“Very convincing,” Penelope grins. “What are you and Valentina doing?”

“We’re going in to find Clarke and Lexa.”

“You two are going to cover the whole hospital alone?” Lizzie says skeptically. Her hand stills on Marvel, the dog picks her head up and looks at Lizzie. Josie pats Marvels head gently. Marvel falls back asleep.

“We’ll have Marvel, don’t worry. She’s great at detecting undead and foreign human presences. Plus, she knows Clarke and Lexa’s scent, she could lead us straight to them,” I argue with Valentina nodding next to me. “Look, that’s just part one. If either group fails, we all fail. If Lizzie and Hope don’t have our backs from the bridge, Penelope and Josie could easily get overwhelmed from the ground, and Valentina and I could get ambushed inside. This whole plan rests on each group keeping the others safe.”

“I can only speak for myself, but I’m not losing another one of our group,” Josie whispers through the silence. “We failed Nicole and Waverly. I refuse to fail anyone us. We’re going to get Clarke and Lexa back at no cost to any of us.”

Everyone around the table nods sternly.

“Then let me explain the rest of the plan,” Valentina says before launching into what could potentially be the plan that gets us all killed. But I’d much rather die trying to save our family than die doing nothing. I’m not a hero. I want nothing to do with that title that has been thrust onto me. If saving the lives of those I care about makes me a hero, fine. But this time I’m going to do it with the people I trust to keep me safe.

***

Valentina and I decided to go out for a quick scavenge with Marvel. We aren’t necessarily running low on anything right now, not since the haul Hope, Lizzie, and I brought back from the Twilight Town. But we don’t know what we could run into, what kind of trouble might lie behind those hospital doors. So Val and I leave the house with Marvel the next day before the sun even comes up.

It’s dark. Not in the way it is in the middle of the night, but more of a darkness that is being overrun by an early morning glow. A twilight. The sun’s rays are clamoring to peek above the horizon and wash the world in light. But the night holds tight, not ready to relinquish its power quite yet.

We walk through the neighborhood, flashlights bouncing off abandoned houses, rusting cars. Light refracts back from the patches of snow. This time of day is eerie in a way that makes my skin simultaneously crawl and be at ease. Being alone at this time with Valentina and Marvel at my side reminds me of when we first started traveling together. Further south, in warmer weather, with hope still on the horizon for the both of us. Those rushed early morning travels searching high and low for her family and for mine.

Turns out we’re the only family each other has now. Plus our new band of misfits.

Still...the atmosphere around us breathes new hope into me. Rejuvenates my energy remembering how far we’ve come.

“Where are we even heading, Peaches?” Val speaks up as I lead us out of the neighborhood into the woods across the street. Marvel trots happily near us, sniffing every now and again.

“I was looking at the maps last night,” I say, “there’s another small neighborhood through this patch of trees. Considering the one we’re in is relatively untouched, I figured this other one would be a good bet for supplies.”

She nods. We continue our walk in silence. Branches and leaves crunch beneath our feet as we move. Marvel is still running about without a care, which is a good sign that we’re still alone. No Rotters or unsavory others. Just two woman and their dog. And also their sharpened weapons and loaded guns.

“Have you thought about what you’ll do?” Valentina asks as we weave deeper into the woods. The sun’s rays are just beginning to peak up, splashing bits of red and orange light through the dead forest.

“What I’ll do about what?” I pause casting a glance back at her.

“When you see Panchito. If you see him…”

“I’m going to kill him.” I say this without a pause. And I say it with absolute certainty.

“And if there’s more to his story than you think?”

“I don’t care about his reasons, Valentina. He’s been helping kidnap people and releasing Rotters and all the other undead types into the world,” I argue. “Whatever reasons he has doesn’t bring back the lives of the people he’s helped kill.”

“Even if it’s to save his family…”

“He could’ve found another way.”

“Killing him makes you no better than them, you know that, right?” Valentina says reaching toward me and pulling me toward her. I’m forced to look her in those deadly blue eyes. They softness that she usually regards me with is stripped away, hidden behind the calculated look she’s giving me now.

“Why does he deserve mercy?”

“I’m not saying her does, but you should give him a chance to explain. He might be more help than you think.” She shrugs and walks ahead of me, Marvel following closely on her heels. The two of them pause at the edge of a frozen river. Val steps forward tentatively, testing her weight on it before concluding it seems safe enough.

“Val, wait, why don’t I—”

“I’m a big girl, Juli. I can handle going first.” She waves me off and glides effortlessly and cautiously across the thick ice. Marvel scampers sloppily behind her. Both wait for me on the other side. I hesitate. “You scared, Peaches?”

“No, I’m thinking.” I’m scared. Very much scared. Crossing a frozen river just seems like a stupid idea, especially since I know there’s a break in the river further down. But Valentina is staring at me from across the river, hand on her hip, smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Come on, love, it’s safe. You saw me cross it, even Marvel did it. You can do this!” She shoots me a thumbs up. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be in good spirit or in jest. Either way, it spurs me to cross the river. Determined. A little spiteful. Maybe a tad too forcefully.

Okay, a lot too forcefully.

Heavy footed, unsure, and definitely trying to prove a point that I had no need to.

And then a small creak sounds beneath my feet. I take another tentative step forward. Another creak. Louder this time. I watch the ice start to crack and splinter beneath my weight.

“Uh-oh,” I mutter whipping my head up, wide-eyed, mouth agape. Val’s expression mirrors my own.

“Juliana, do not move quickly! Get on your stomach, starfish that shit, you need to spread your weight out,” Val calls out to me. But it’s too late. The moment I try to follow her advice the ice breaks beneath me and I plunge into the frigid water below.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Okay, remain calm. Remain fucking calm, Juliana. I think back to all that Panchito taught me. It’s not to say he’s ever actively thrown me onto an icy river to teach me how to survive. But we have discussed this at length before.

“Don’t panic, Juliana,” he said. My mind flashes back to where we once stood at the edge of a frozen pond. “Flatten yourself, disperse your weight the best you can, try to roll away. If you fall through, make your way back to the hole.” I let his voice flood my head. Despite what he may be doing with his life now, he taught me how to survive.

So I listen.

I kick my way back to the hole. The cold hasn’t seeped through my thick winter clothes yet. The air trapped into my outfit concealing the warm inside. I can’t see too far in front of me. Too afraid to find a Dredger trapped in the icy water with me. If they could even survive trapped under the ice for so long…

I plant my hands on the ice above me, trying to find the hole I fell through. Time is pacing slowly and quickly all at once. I’m running out of air. Light headed. Chest aching. Lungs burning. Where is it, where is it, where—

Bursting through the hole, I gasp for air and throw my arms out in front of me onto the ice. It feels sturdy under my arms.

“Holy shit, Juliana!” Val yells. My eyes find hers. Panicked. Unsure.

“Stay—stay there,” I wheeze as I start to kick my feet in the water. Rapidly. Trying to swim my way out of this hole. I kick and I kick, water splashing everywhere until finally I slide away like a seal. Rolling on the ice away from the hole and toward Valentina on the bank of the river. Her and Marvel wait for me, dragging me away from the river. She wraps me up in a spare jacket she has and drags me away. I’m shivering. Obviously. “Warmth. Need shelter.”

“The other neighborhood is still far away…” Val’s voice is soft, whispering in my ear. I lift my arm and point down the river.

“Easier to cross, more of a break,” I mutter.

“Now you tell me.” Valentina tries to laugh. It’s distant. And forced. I try to walk and stumble. Her arms wrap around my waist and hold me up. The static of the radio fills the air. “Penelope, come in.”

“What’s up, Princess?” Pen says.

“Any chance you could come meet us at the edge of the woods across from the neighborhood?” Valentina grasps my side tighter as I stumble alongside her. Marvel sticks by us more closely now.

“Everything okay?”

“Juliana took a polar plunge,” Val says causing Pen to laugh on the other end.

“So you’ve got a peach popsicle?” I can feel Val stifle a laugh. “I’ll meet you there and have Hope start a small fire. See you soon.”

“Hurry, I don’t want my girlfriend to lose her hands.”

Penelope’s smirk could be heard through the walkie, “I’m sure you don’t.”  
***

I vaguely remembered being placed inside our safe house next to the fireplace. Josie and Lizzie were also bundled up beside me, taking in the warmth of the flames. I don’t know where the other three went, but by the time they return the flames have dwindled and the twins have fallen asleep.

The three women drop their haul onto the floor of the living room and come toward us. Each one taking their significant other away and putting out of the fire. Val sweeps me up into her arms and carries me off to the room we share. She tucks me into the blankets on the springy old bed and curls into my side with Marvel at our feet.

Despite the looming battle I know we have to prepare for, it doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/189025515368/something-wicked-by-zags96-chapter-thirteen)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
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> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
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> [twitter](https://twitter.com/zags96) Follow for updates on all fics! 
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> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



	15. Part IV: Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group starts their rescue mission to get Lexa and Clarke back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for not updating this for a while. I've been going through some personal stuff. And I started my masters program at the start of the new year so there hasn't been much time or care for writing because of everything going on. I finally was able to finish a short update to my liking. I promise this fic will not be abandoned or left to rot. I have every intention of finishing it, I just can't promise it'll be regular updates by any means. Please be understanding, I am trying my absolute best. That being said, here's a little update. 
> 
> Also, I won't be posting any more moodboards. I don't have the time anymore. I'm so sorry.

Part IV: Chapter Fourteen — January 8, 2026, 3:19AM

The hospital stands tall and foreboding in the distance as we approach in the truck. Lizzie and Josie are fairing better than before. We had to change their positions at the last minute when Lizzie tried to shoot her bow and arrow with a broken arm and it didn’t make it more than three feet before the tip dug itself into the soil. Josie, however, can do nearly as well with it as Lizzie, so she’ll be sticking to Hope’s side up on the overpass. Which, really, is better because she can barely walk. At least from up there she doesn’t need to run and do hand-to-hand combat. 

That means, though, that Penelope and Lizzie are our front line on the ground. Penelope will have the truck though, so if anything goes wrong they can speed away if they need to. But they’ll be handling the combat from there and keeping an eye on any potential movement. 

Each unit has a walkie, but Val and I gave them explicit instructions not to contact us while we’re inside unless absolutely necessary. Last thing I need is to be killed because Hope and Lizzie are arguing over a walkie talkie. 

“Are we sure this is a good plan?” Hope speaks up as we pull up on the overpass to let her and Josie out. The two women are tasked with setting up their defenses and keeping look out for the rest of us. From up on the overpass, Hope and Josie can easily see both the front and back of the hospital, leaving the surrounding areas to be protected by Penelope and Lizzie. 

“No,” I say with a shrug, “but it’s the only one we have.” 

“You, Val, and Marvel running into a solider and potentially Rotter infested building is the only plan we could come up with?” She looks at me incredulously. 

“I didn’t see you offering up a better idea,” I shoot back. She opens her mouth, but I cut her off already knowing what she was going to say. “We’re not leaving Clarke and Lexa behind.” 

“They could already be—” Hope is swiftly smacked by Lizzie. “Ouch!” 

“Don’t be a bitch,” Lizzie sighs and kisses her cheek as an apology. “Now get out of the car and take care of my sister.” 

“Wh—what about me? You aren’t gonna say that to Josie?” Lizzie shrugs and taps Penelope’s shoulder for her to go. 

“Hope, if Josie gets hurt, I’m going to kill you myself,” Penelope says before kissing her girlfriend and driving off. In the rearview, I see Hope huff and Josie laughing. Penelope and Lizzie share a conspiratory smirk, likely see the same scene unfolding as we drive away. I glance over at Marvel and Val who are both staring out the window watching as the Hospital comes closer. 

“You two sure you don’t want another one of us in there with you?” Penelope asks. 

“No,” Valentina answers first, “it’s better to limit the number of us sneaking around in there. The less of us there are the less suspicious.” 

“I’m sure the outfits might help,” Lizzie adds point at mine and Val’s all black attire. “You’ll definitely fit in.”

“Let’s hope so,” I sigh pushing the hair out of my face. “I don’t know how many soldiers they have; they may know everyone’s face.” 

“Or,” Val speaks up, “they have so many we just blend in. We might not have to incapacitate anyone.”

“She’s so pure,” Penelope laughs. “Val, they’re not gonna hesitate to kill you, why would you just knock them out?” 

“I don’t want to be like them,” she shrugs. Before anyone can responds she points to the back fence behind the hospital. “Here, drop us here.” 

It only takes a few moments and a rushed, “good luck,” before Val, Marvel, and I are left alone. Penelope and Lizzie have to keep tabs on the whole of the perimeter the best they can. Thankfully, with Josie and Hope up on the overpass they should be able to communicate on a different walkie channel for any incoming danger. I threatened them all to make sure they only contacted Val and I in an absolute emergency. 

“Over or through?” I ask sizing up the fence. Val looks along the fence and finds a rusted part that offers a small opening. She grins. “Through it is.” Valentina leads us through the tall grass growing around the building. Marvel trots slowly ahead of us, nose to the ground as she sniffs out potential danger. 

“I’m glad it’s you with me,” I say softly as we approach the back door. Val regards me quizzically. “We’ve traveled together the longest, you understand me without words. It’ll make this stealth rescue mission easier.” 

“Yeah,” she nods, “I’m surprised you are going in hell bent on killing everyone.” 

“And put you and the rest of the team at risk?” I shake my head. “I can’t guarantee people won’t die, but my goal is to get in, rescue Clarke and Lexa, and get out.” Valentina kisses my cheek, eyes smiling. 

“Let’s do this, then.” She uses the butt of her gun and breaks the rusted lock off the door, gesturing me in first. 

*** 

It’s not that I thought it would easy to find Dylan and Luna in this thirteen floor hospital. When we first enter, we come into a stairwell. The door is jammed shut by fallen concrete from the stairs, leaving the only way to go is up. We climb the stairs silently. Marvel leaping over the gaps in the stairs easily; Val and I not so easily. It takes some team work, and a lot of pulling, but we make it to the next floor. The door is shut, window covered in dirt and grime from the years. 

I look to Val and back to the door handle, she nods, pulling her gun out. I hold my machete in my left hand, pulling the door open slowly with my right. Peering out, the hallway is clear. Heaving a sigh of relief, I turn back to Val and signal her to follow. Her and Marvel come trotting out behind me, both quietly observing their surroundings. I try to keep an eye on Marvel’s behavior as we slink about the corridor, feet light and nimble like mice. 

Beside me, Val points to a door on her right and one on my left.

_Split up?_ I mouth with a frown. She points to Marvel who is pacing a small length of the hallway. The dog stops and peers over her shoulder at us, tongue lolled to the side; everything is fine. Marvel would alert us otherwise. She always does. I turn my gaze back to Valentina and nod, albeit a little reluctantly. She grins and walks into the room behind her; I don’t move until I lose sight of her. 

The room behind me is small, a broken chair in one corner with a rusted cart next to it and a monitor on the wall. Glass crunches under my feet with each step I take. I clear the room and move to the next. And then the next. Until both Valentina and I are at the other end of the hallway with Marvel sniffing the floor around us. None of the rooms yielded any signs of Clarke or Lexa, or even any supplies that might be helpful to us. Seems like the soldiers had already cleared it out. 

Valentina is peering through another door when a sound echoes through the empty hall. A low whine fills the corridor, bouncing off the walls until it barely reaches our ears. 

Marvel paws the floor. 

Val snaps her eyes to mine. 

_Screecher. _

Val stretches her hand out quickly and tugs me into through the doorway with her. Marvel follows our lead and remains quiet as we lean out bodies against the door. 

Another low whine echoes down the hall, but this time it’s followed by the sound of voices. “If I have to eat bean paste one more night, I’m going to fight Panchito myself,” a feminine voice says. 

“Get in line,” a masculine voice scoffs. “I swear he keeps all the good food for himself.” 

“He acts like he’s a saint but he’s the one running this operation,” the footsteps get closer to our position. The Screecher whines again. “How good can someone be if they’re willingly kidnapping people?” 

“Heard he’s doing it to save his family.” 

“Yeah? Does he know that’s a lost cause yet…” Their footsteps halt outside the door. Marvel’s paw starts to tap against the ground. Low whines turn to higher pitched whines from the Screecher. Val and I exchange wide eyed looks. _This is it. This is how we die. _

Wait. 

_Lost cause,_ I mouth to Val. She shrugs before glancing around the room to find a way to escape. But the soldiers on the other side of the door don’t pay any mind to the Screecher. 

“Lost cause?” The man repeats my thoughts. A chorus of metal clanking against each other follows his question. “God, will this slimy fuck stop that whining?” 

“You didn’t hear? The Reaper threatened Panchito; if he didn’t take this position he was going to kill his family,” the woman explains. “He killed them anyway. Turned them into Rotters. They’re being held next to those two girls on the sixth floor.” 

Val glances at me. Two girls. Sixth floor. That has to be Clarke and Lexa. 

“Fuck, don’t want to get on The Reaper’s bad side, then…” the man muses. A round of whines follows. “Shut. Up! Let’s go take this shit down to the basement already.” A door opens and slams shut and we’re left in the silence of their absence. Valentina slumps against the door swiping her hand over her brow. 

“The Reaper?” she whispers looking at me.

“I thought Panchito was the boss…” I respond. We both let the realization sink in. 

“He’s a mini-boss,” Val points out. “Like in a video game. Challenging but not impossible to beat.” 

I roll my eyes, “this isn’t a video game, Valentina. If we fuck up we will actually die.” 

“I thought you made peace with death,” she smirks. 

“Not funny,” I shove her shoulder and place my palm on the door. “Come on, we got some stairs to climb.”


	16. Part IV: Chapter Fifteen

Part IV: Chapter Fifteen — January 8, 2026, 3:58AM

We make it up two flights of stairs before we run into a problem. 

“Are you sure we can’t get up there?” Val looks up hopefully at the landing of the stairs to the next floor. 

“Unless you can jump that gap, I’m pretty sure we can’t get up there.” I sigh and peek at the door to the third floor. Just fabulous. Of course this wasn’t going to be easy. It’s now turned into a giant maze to navigate filled with soldiers and undead fucks. We came in blind and we might not even make it out alive. Which is just fabulous. Valentina is no doubt cursing me in her head, probably calling this another one of my suicide missions. 

“I guess we have to find another way up.” Val takes the lead this time and opens the door slowly only to snap it closed without a sound. “Yeah, nope, we’re just gonna have to leap and hope we don’t die.”

I raise a brow. 

“There’s at least a dozen soldiers milling around in that hallway,” she whispers, eyes wide. 

“And?” My face scrunches. “We’ve taken down more than that.” 

“They have guns, Juliana.”

“So, do we?” I shake my head and pull my pistol from the holster, twisting the silencer on. “See? We’re not helpless, Val. If we have to kill them, we have to kill them.”

“I don’t—” Her eyes shut, chest heaves up, and back down. “I wanted to avoid that.” 

“They’re not going to have mercy on us, you know that better than anyone else.” I know I hit a sore spot the moment her eyes fly open and icy daggers are shot in my direction. She steps closer to me and grips my wrist lightly. I gulp at the intensity of her gaze. 

“You’re right, I do know better than you what they’re capable of,” Val says slowly. “That is exactly why I don’t want to go out there, Juli. I don’t—if we get caught, who’s to say they won’t—”

“I won’t let them.” Twisting my hand I interlock our fingers together tugging her closer. Marvel taps the floor once and brushes against my leg. Footsteps echo outside the door as they pass. We hold out breath. The moment Marvel relaxes back against the concrete floor we know we’re in the clear. For now. “I know you don’t want me doing that heroic shit anymore, but I will not hesitate to fuck all those dudes up to keep you safe. To keep us safe. I need you to trust me, baby. I need you to have my back if things go south and I have to start going Rambo on their asses.” 

“Only if you let me spartan kick someone down the elevator shaft.” A small smile spreads on her lips. 

“If the opportunity arises,” I press a kiss to her lips and she grins. “Now, let’s fuck their shit up.” 

“You got it, Peaches.” 

Groaning, I roll my eyes, “really thought I finally lost that horrible nickname.”

“I think it’s cute.”

“No, you’re a horny bitch who couldn’t stop looking at my ass.”

Val shrugs, “can you blame me?” I push her away and turn the safety off on my pistol. 

“Shut up. Let’s go.” She salutes me and tugs her shotgun off the strap on her bag and grins. Marvel stands at attention as we open the door and I gesture for her to back up. The last thing I need is her to get stuck in the crossfire. I am not losing another member of my family. Not like that. 

I take the front and eye the soldiers wandering through the halls. They don’t appear heavily armed. They don’t even look like they have a care in the world. Most are joking around, shoving each other, popping in and out of other rooms. There are only two soldiers immediately near us right now. They’re short but ripped as shit. Not the easiest targets to take down quietly, they could put a good fight. But we could use the element of surprise to our advantage. 

Val taps my shoulder and points toward the open elevator shaft…I grin at the suggestion and nod. The two soldiers chat back and forth near a door a few feet away. Too far away from the elevator shaft and too close to us. We need to wait. Patience is the only way we can make it through this whole rescue mission. So we wait as the soldiers talk. And while other soldiers had at least given us some important information as we eavesdrop, these idiots are talking about their workout routine. Which, honestly, Val and I can do in our sleep. How the fuck did they get so ripped? 

Just as I was about to create a sound to lure the soldiers closer, they start walking toward the other end of the hallway; toward us. I keep the door cracked slightly to watch as they pass before the three of us slide silently out of the stairwell and into the hall. Marvel and Val creeped up behind the two soldiers as they neared the elevator shaft. I stayed back, gun ready to shoot if this starts to go south.

Marvel darted forward at the signal of Valentina and launch herself at one of the soldiers as Val kicked the other. I watch in astonishment as Val’s plan actually works. The two soldiers don’t even have a chance to react as the attack took them by complete surprise. They didn’t crumpled like rag dolls as their bodies tumbled down the elevator shaft. Muffled yells and a distant thud as their bodies hit the ground below. A wicked grin graces Valentina’s soft features as she turns to look at me. Even Marvel smiles at their handy work. 

A ruckus at the end of the hall and the sound of voices approaching sends the three us of rushing into the nearest door we can find. Which, thankfully, is another stairwell. Except this time, the stairs actually lead up to the next floor. When the door shuts quietly behind us, Val breaks out in a little dance. One that brings me back to those months ago when we traveled alone. Long before we met the others and even Marvel. 

“Did you see that, Peaches?” She says excitedly. “I launched their asses down the shaft.” Marvel huffs. “With Marvel’s help of course.”

“Oh, I saw. Not gonna lie, it was kinda hot.” Val barks out a laugh and kisses me swiftly before bolting up the stairs. She turns back around, blue eyes shinning with a confidence that I haven’t seen in a while. Alacran made sure of that. He broke her. Destroyed the silly, confident, and badass spirit that she had before. I’ve missed this side of her, the side that would charge head first into a fight with me. 

It’s easy for me to forget that she was tortured…that she was touched in ways no one should ever be subjected to against their will. I didn’t go through it. I don’t even know the full details. Valentina never talked about it in a deep dive…she told me the vaguest of details and even then my stomach churned and my blood boiled. I’m glad I killed Alacran and all his scummy men. 

I hate that I had to.

I hate that I enjoyed it…

But I did what I had to. Val needed me. And she needs me now. Together we’re strong. Together we fight. So I jog up the steps and grab Val’s hand. She grins wider and pats the top of Marvel’s head before we continue up another flight of stairs. We’re trying to reach the sixth floor without too much difficulty. Minus the blocked doors and potentially dead soldiers Val spartan kicked, this mission hasn’t been too difficult. 

Which is exactly something you shouldn’t think when you’re trying to stealth your way through a massive hospital filled with bad guys and Rotters. Because the next thing I know, the door to the stairwell slams open and a tall soldier dressed in all black with biceps the size of my head sees us. 

“Fuck,” I mutter aiming my pistol as quickly as I can before the man can call for back up. But it’s too late. There was a dozen soldiers already walking up behind him. Each of equal size and build. Scowls appear rapidly on their hardened faces. Their hands react just as quickly as mine did, pulling varying types of weapons out of their waistbands. 

“Fuck,” I whine trying to wrack my brain for an escape plan. For anything that might get us out of this situation faster than either running away or trying to pick off the soldiers. Val is doing the same. I can see her processing the surroundings in an attempt to calculate a diversion. 

“Look at what we have here, boys,” the sasquatch of a man in front of me drawls. “Couple of trespassers…know what we do to trespassers, ladies?” 

“Invite us to a tea party?” I guess with a shrug, pistol aimed at his head. “I’m more of a coffee person but thank you.” 

“A funny girl,” he smirks. “You won’t be laughing soon.” His goonies grumble in agreement. 

“Ah, you’re right,” I pout. “Shouldn’t laugh and drink. You could choke and die.”

“You’ll just be dying sweetheart,” the man in front says. I tilt my head using the moment to peek at Val. She has that look in her eyes. The one similar to when she saw the elevator shaft downstairs. She has a plan. And I need to keep stalling. 

“What a shame, I was really looking forward to having a drink with you,” I sigh dramatically. “The world is a little short on good looking men like yourself…” I try not to gag on my own words. Inflate their egos. Bring their guard down. From what it seems, this whole operation is a sausage fest. “Are you sure you need to kill us? At least let us have some fun first…” gross. Gross. Gross. Never in a million years would I let these jacked up meat suits touch me. Not when I have a goddess standing next to me with a shotgun in her hand. Fuck. Why is that so hot? Oh my god, Juliana, focus. 

The men are busy exchanging wolfish grins to notice Val pushing me backwards a little. Our feet touch the stairs, Marvel already on the platform beneath us at Val’s signal. My gun is still aimed at the front mans head ready for whatever Val might be planning. I’m thinking we’re just gonna run for it by the way we’re slowly backing up. But Valentina stops me from turning around and nods back toward the group of men. They’re looking at us carefully. 

“Your friend doesn’t talk much, huh?” He prowls toward us, teeth showing in a smile that’s more menacing than comforting. “Smile, gorgeous, it’d look good on you.” I’m thrown back to the bandits that tried to take us. To the moment where I made Valentina shoot me to escape those sick fucks. To the moment I almost blew that mans head off for saying to the same shit to us. Except this time, instead of doing something crazy or reckless, I wait for Val’s response. She has a plan. I know she does.

But instead, she smiles at the man. I’m thrown off guard at her reaction. What is she—and then it happens; she fires her shotgun at the cracked stairs above us. One shot. Two. Nothing happens, at least it doesn’t seem like anything is happening. Until concrete starts to rain down in small chunks and then giant rocks tumble down. The whole stairwell collapses in front of us, nearly on top of us but Valentina is shouting and shoving me. 

“Go, Juliana, go!” We sprint down the stairs and out the door on the next floor. Our presence is definitely gonna be known now. So much for a stealth mission, right? Maybe we’ll get away with it. Maybe no one will even—

“There they are!” A loud voice booms through the corridor of the fifth floor. Feet thunder out of rooms until the hall is filled with bodies. 

“Ready to fight, Peaches?” Valentina rasps readying herself to reload the shotgun. I stop her handing her my pistol and grabbing the other gun at my side. 

I nod, “as ready as I can be.” Before the men at the end of the hallway can aim our way Val and I are already picking them off. Five bodies hit the ground in seconds while the rest of the men scatter. They dive through open doorways, duck behind fallen debris, rush to the adjacent hallway. Val and I are left in the open with Marvel who I gesture to say behind us. I don’t need to lose her to a bullet wound. I can’t. Thank you to whoever trained this brilliant dog because she not only fights like hell but listens really well. In moments like this when the odds are stacked against us, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about her too. 

Val pushes me across the hallway into a room opposite the one her and Marvel fled into. Bullets rain through the hallway at our hiding spots. 

“There’s still like ten of them,” Val shouts over the cacophony of gunshots. The noise dies down. “They can easily take us.”

“Let’s not make it easy then,” I grin at her and lean out the door way, pistol aimed and ready to shoot. At the same moment, a soldier had popped up from his hiding spot ready to shoot. He wasn’t fast enough. Blood sprays the wall and the soldier closest to him. 

“Fucking nasty!” One of the soldiers yell pushing the bod away from them. The dead body hits the floor with a sickening smack, blood pooling around the wound in his head. I throw myself back against the door frame to hide from the next round of bullets that are sure to rain down on us. 

“Why haven’t they come closer?” I ask Val who’s doing the same thing I am. She also has her hand on Marvel’s collar holding her back. 

“Probably because you keep shooting them in the head,” she points out with a shrug. 

“They have at least eight more guns on us,” I counter, “they can’t be scared of us.” 

“Or they are, you are kind of a badass, Peaches.” Valentina smirks sending a wink my way. 

I groan, “now is not the time to flirt!” 

“It’s always a good time to flirt.” 

“Seriously, Val, we are not doing this while we’re being—” I pause realizing the gunshots had stopped. The gruff voices have gone silent too, no taunting or chatter to each other. Silence fills my ears. “What is—” and then I hear his voice. 

“You’re causing a lot of trouble for me, Juliana.” 

I step out of the doorway immediately, Val’s voice calling for me to stay put but I can’t. My gun is aimed at the man’s head in an instant as I approach him. He looks the same as when I left the Q-zone all those months ago. Dark hair with specks of grey, his eyes are still as kind as I remember, his smile familiar and soft like it always was before. But the way he holds himself, the stiffness in his posture, the grimace on his features when I step closer pushing the barrel of the gun against his forehead. That’s new. Is it fear? Disappointment? A flicker of sadness swims in his eyes before Panchito grins. 

“That’s not a nice way to greet your old mentor.”


	17. Part IV: Chapter Sixteen

**Part IV: Chapter Sixteen — January 8, 2026, 5:12AM**

Panchito is still smiling at me, it’s unnerving. Not because he’s the villain in this scenario, but because the smile is sickeningly sweet. Soft, warm, like we’re old buddies coming back together. As if he isn’t the one playing a large hand at kidnapping and killing so many innocent people. As if he isn’t the one letting hundreds of Rotters loose on the world. He’s increasing their population and lowering ours. We are overrun. And it’s largely his fault. 

We are not old friends. 

He is not just my mentor anymore. He’s nothing more to me than a tainted past and a reminder that we can’t trust anyone; we don’t know anyone. 

Panchito’s smile widens. 

God, fuck this guy. 

My fist is swinging at his face before I can even stop to consider that there are six beefy dudes with guns behind him. These dudes work for him. But it’s way too late to stop the trajectory of my fist as it flies to his face. A cracking sound fills the hallway. Everyone freezes for a split second before guns are drawn. Blood flows from Panchito’s nose, crimson drops color the white tile beneath our feet. 

“How could you?” I ask him calmly. “How could you!” My voice raises, shrill…desperate. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to paint these walls with your blood, you sick, sadistic bastard!” Val grabs my arm, holding back from starting a fight I am no doubt going to lose. 

Panchito gestures to the men behind him for them to lower their weapons. His grin widens as he notices the way Val has to grip my arm tightly to keep me in place. 

I speak again, more calmly, “I am going to kill you.”

His face softens for a moment, “you forget I taught you everything you know.” Red hot anger flushes through my body at the wistful tone. And I lunge for him again. 

“Juliana, stop!” Valentina yells wrapping her arms around my body. “We are outnumbered, don’t be fucking reckless.” Her voice is harsh in my ear. The message is clear, and it’s certainly a warning to knock it the fuck off because I’m putting our lives in danger. 

“Listen to your little friend, Juli,” Panchito says.

“You lost your right to call me that,” I growl. His shoulders inch up toward his ears before dropping heavily, his hands falling against his side with a soft thud. He turns to look at the men behind him. 

“Get out of here, go check on the civilians in the basement,” Panchito demands, voice booming. “You two, come with me to my office. Now.” His soldiers grumble as they disperse down hallways and stairwells sending apprehensive looks our way. Feet stomp away until suddenly Val, Marvel, and I are left alone with Panchito. 

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I scoff tugging myself out of Val’s grasp.

“I know where they’re keeping your friends.” Panchito tries to convince us, little does he know…

“So do we,” I bite back. 

“You won’t get killed on sight if you’re with me,” he adds, 

“Ah, he makes some points,” Val says to me. Marvel sniffs around Panchito, slowly circling the man. Marvel nudges the man gently with her head and licks his outstretched hand. “And Marvel trusts him.”

“Traitor,” I mutter before caving in. “Fine, but once we get our friends we’re leaving.” 

“Okay,” he nods, “I have a condition of my own. It’s not safe to talk here, there are things you don’t know about the outbreak or this operation. I’ll get you and your friends out of here safely, but you need to promise to meet me at the Tarson Mill on the edge of town in two days.” 

Val and I share a glance. This could be a trap to get us comfortable and then lead us to our death. But…it could also be helpful in trying to figure out how to stop all these innocent people from dying. 

“Fine, but we’re coming heavily armed.” I step toward Panchito with my hand out, “all of our group; the eight of us—” Marvel barks, “—Nine of us.” My heart aches remembering Nicole and Waverly are no longer with us.

“Deal,” his calloused hand meets mine in the middle in a firm shake. “Follow me.”  
***

Panchito leads us through a series of hallways and stairwells. He mentions how most of them have caved in on themselves. Any direct route to what he calls the prison block is impossible to get through. Val and I exchange a look when we realize that we never would have gotten out of here in one piece let alone alive. Not with the way this building has become a naturally made maze. 

“Where’d you get all these soldiers to fight for you?” I ask suddenly as we turn down yet another corridor. I silently pray that he isn’t leading us to our deaths. 

“They’re not soldiers,” he looks at me, lips turned down at the corners. “They’re civilians just like you both were before all of this.” He gestures around us at the dilapidated building, at the bullet casings on the floor and the blood on the wall. In the distance, low groans echo through the building and another round of gun shots follow quickly after. “I trained most of the new recruits, like I trained you.”

“Right,” I say slowly. I try to push the warm feeling rising up in my chest at the mention of our past. He was a strong father figure for me, someone I looked up to, someone I never thought would betray me like my real father did. And yet here we are… “That doesn’t really answer how you found them.” 

“I didn’t, The Reaper did.” Panchito pushes open a door and we enter another long hallway. Most of the doors have heavy chains and padlocks on the outside. Voices and moans float softly, broken, through the walls. He doesn’t move further from the doorway. Marvel’s paws tap the floor slowly as she walks by all the doors. 

“Did he name himself that?” Valentina scoffs. 

“No, the vultures did.” Val and I give him confused glances. “The group, the ‘soldiers’ as you keep calling them, they’re the vultures. The Reaper finds people half dead and desperate. He makes them a deal, indoctrinates them with his message.”

“And that’s how he found you?” I ask. There’s a rise in noise from all around the building. An explosion sounds from outside followed by a wicked roar that can only mean one thing—a goliath. 

“I’ll explain that when we meet again, for now, I have to go make sure those idiots don’t let the Goliath loose before The Reaper wants.” Panchito starts to back away before he halts throwing a look over his shoulder. “There’s a stairwell at the end of the hall, it’ll dump you out at the left side of the building. Signal your group and let them know.”

“What about the Goliath?” Valentina interjects before he can leave again.

Panchito shakes his head, “it’s on the right side. I promise, I’m not sending you to your death.”

“That’s not reassuring,” I grumble. 

“48 hours, Tarson Mill.” Val and I nod and watch as he disappears out the door. Valentina turns to me a questioning look in her eyes. 

“How are we going to open these doors?” She groans yanking on the heavily chained doors. A chorus of groans come from behind the door. “Maybe we don’t open that one,” she steps away from it. Marvel trots up to her and grabs Val’s sleeve with her teeth tugging her toward a door at the end of the hallway. It’s not nearly as safe guarded as the others. 

Marvel is butting her head against the door gently, small huffs falling from her mouth. She looks to the both of us wide eyed. 

“Do you think—” I start to say but Val already has her shotgun in her hand. She lifts the gun up and using the butt end of it smashes it down on the singular lock holding the door shut. It only takes two solid hits before the lock snaps and clatters to the ground. “I really hope it’s them in there and not someone who is literally going to kill us,” I grumble pulling my gun out and aiming it at the door as Val opens it. 

“I don’t think Marvel would lead us that astray.” 

“Maybe the person in there has dog treats, I don’t know,” I shrug. Marvel whines at me. “We both know you’d do anything for food, Marv.” She flicks me with her tail and moves closer to Valentina. I don’t have time to act betrayed because Val is pulling the door open and I’m scrambling to aim properly into the pitch-black room. No sounds come from the room for a moment until a raspy voice calls out. 

“Lower you fucking gun.” The voice is followed by a sigh and then shuffling of feet. A very dirty and bloodied blonde appears in the doorway, hand reaching out to lower the barrel of my gun herself. I’m too shocked to move. “What, you really thought we were dead?” Clarke asks leaning against the door frame. She’s thin. Sickly looking under the layer of dirt on her skin. 

“Where’s—” Clarke shushes me. 

“Lexa’s in there,” she points across to the other door with a simple padlock. “They had us in the same room the first few days, but we almost overpowered them a few times when they brought us food.” Valentina is already strutting over to the other door and breaks that lock with just as much ease as the first one. The moment the lock hits the ground the door flies open and Lexa rushes to Clarke, her arms wrapping around her lover’s thin frame. 

“Are you okay?” Lexa whispers brushing Clarke’s blonde hair out of her face. 

“I’m alive,” Clarke answers with a shrug. “We should get out of here…” 

I reach for the walkie in my bag and call in to Penelope and Lizzie, “left side of the hospital, we’ve got them.” 

“Be there in 5,” Penelope calls back. 

“Let’s go, this stairwell will drop us where we need to be,” I say starting to head out the door. Marvel sticks to me as Val stays with Clarke and Lexa. This staircase is entirely unobstructed, and it makes for a speedy escape. Thankfully there are no Vultures chasing us—I’m gonna have to get used to that new name—and no Rotters coming for our flesh. Clarke and Lexa do a good job keeping up and getting down from the sixth floor to the ground floor. Six flights of stairs are no joke when you’ve been severely underfed and locked up in a tiny room for a week and a half. Marvel is alert but no signaling danger, so I know that Panchito is keeping true to his word as we barrel out the door into the cold winter air. 

Tall grass waves in the air as we move through it back toward the fence that blocks the perimeter of the hospital. As we approach the rusted fence, the truck appears in the distance slowly moving along the bumpy ground toward us. 

“Can you see us?” I ask through the radio. 

“It’s hard to miss you guys, you look a mess,” Lizzie responds this time. 

“So kind,” I deadpan. “You have anything to cut the fence with?” 

“Mm, I think we have something we can use…” I hear the mischief in her voice. “Might wanna back up a bit…or a lot.” Before I can respond I see the truck increase in speed and quickly realize what those two idiots are gonna do. 

“Last time I let them work together,” I grumble pulling the group away from the fence and back toward the door just in time. The truck crashes into the chain linked fence, it wobbles and then crashes down sending grass and dirt up in a cloud. 

“Get in losers!” Lizzie yells through the passenger window with a smirking Penelope behind the wheel. 

“They’re really trying to get us killed,” Lexa groans and shuffles off toward the truck with Clarke in tow. 

Once we’re all situated in the truck, Penelope takes off back toward the bridge where Josie and Hope are waiting. As we rush away from the hospital, a successful rescue mission under our belts, I don’t feel as relieved as I wanted to. I know we came for Clarke and Lexa. I know the intention was to get in and out as easily as we could. I should be happy that we did that, that no one had to suffer or die on our end. But I also can’t ignore the anger I felt toward Panchito going into this; the anger I felt toward the whole organization—the Vultures and Reaper. All of them. They deserve death for what they’ve done to innocent people. And in the name of what? Of science? Of exploration? Of power? And why did Panchito do it? The conversations we overheard claim that it was for his family…but I could’ve sworn they were dead a long time ago, long before I left the Q-Zone. Which only means one thing…

The Reaper has had his claws in Panchito from the very beginning. And if Panchito was training people to become a part of the Vultures then…does that mean that’s what he was training me for? Was I going to turn into the soulless people that kill for fun and kidnap innocent people at the beck and call of a man I no doubt believe is evil? 

There are too many questions now and not enough answers.

Penelope turns to look at me after Josie and Hope get into the truck bed, “back to camp?”

“Yeah, we need to rest and start moving toward the outskirts of town,” I say exchanging looks with Valentina. “I’ll explain later.” 

“Are Nicole and Waverly at camp?” Clarke asks after a beat. Everyone tenses, eyes shifting around refusing to meet either Lexa or Clarke’s questioning gaze. 

“What?” Clarke looks between everyone. “What aren’t you telling us?” 

Josie speaks shakily, “Nicole and Waverly died on the bridge…”

And for the first time since we lost them, the first time with the rest of the group together, I cried for them. I cried for their lost lives, for the revenge I couldn’t give to those who took their lives. The sniffles around me tell me I’m not alone in this feeling. Hands grasp hands as we ride in silence to a safe house that will feel a little less full, a little less lively, a little less safe. 

I never had a true family before, never had people to truly mourn the loss of or protect. I lived like a lone wolf, worrying about myself and only myself. I barely shed a tear when I heard of my parent’s deaths. Before this I didn’t understand the impact that having a true family would have on me. They were people to travel with, people to have my back and I’d have theirs. But now, having lost two of our own…I don’t know if having a family in this world is worth the security when losing them feels like my whole world is tipped on its axis.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the moodboard I made for this story/chapter here! [Something Wicked Prologue Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186709738458/something-wicked-by-zags96-listen-im-not-usually%E2%80%9Drel=)
> 
> Overal fic [Something Wicked Moodboard](https://zags96.tumblr.com/post/186685747398)
> 
> [tumblr](https://zags96.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This is a tumblr I made with a friend, we post juliantina moodboards! [juliantina-moodboards tumblr](https://juliantina-moodboards.tumblr.com)  



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